Lyrics: We were asked to write a song for a CD of songs about adoption, and this is what we wrote.  We were inspired by a speaker at a conference who talked about the family tree assignment so common in schools, and how this can be problematic for kids who have been adopted.

One day I had an assignment            
to make a family tree                    
I had to show the past generations            
and share my history                    
    I didn’t think I could do it            
    There’s so much I don’t know        
    I was adopted when I was a baby        
    -brought here from Mexico            

(Chorus:)
My tree of life holds my family            
From the roots below to the boughs above    
Growing from the past into the future        
Surrounding me with love                

I thought that I was so different
And all my friends fit in
Their family trees would all be so normal
but how should I begin?
    Now I don’t usually give up
    but I didn’t know what to do
    I asked my parents to write an excuse,
    but they challenged me to see this through    

(Chorus)

I started asking my classmates
about their families
I realized that everyone’s different
There’s no one way to be
    Some kids have just one parent
    Some homes are split in 2
    I even found out that there is another
    who was adopted too

(Bridge:)
I can’t see my roots, but I know they are there            
The sapling grows up from the seed            
We don’t always stay where we’re planted        
but we’ll grow if we get what we need.            

I started making my tree of life            
with paper, glue & clay                
It wouldn’t look like anyone elses’            
I did it my own way.                    
    I put my birth parents at my roots        
    holding me way up high            
    I put my mom & dad on the branches    
    Helping me grow to the sky    
        
(Chorus - repeat last line)