They’re Adopted

Our kids were five and two when they were adopted, and it’s common knowledge that our family was formed by adoption. At a recent family gathering, I was eating dinner with an aunt, cousins, my kids, and a new acquaintance. I had just finished talking with this new acquaintance about the kids, their ages, and grades, when our aunt asked how long they had been with us. Our new acquaintance looked very confused, so I explained, “they’re adopted.” I immediately wished I hadn’t answered in a way that labeled my kids. Perhaps I should have labeled myself by saying, “we’re adoptive parents.” Or maybe I should have said, “we adopted them.” What would you have done?