Tag Archives: World Adoption Day

Cigarettes, Coffee, and Your Birth Father

11 Nov

Hello my handsome five-year old :)

The last time I wrote to you was on World Adoption Day…2014. World Adoption Day 2015 was two days ago, and it was celebrated with love and happiness…and family of course!

As I’ve said to you multiple times, your existence and subsequent adoption brought love, joy, and family to so many lives. Thanks to this blog and my letters, you’ve heard my stories and perspective on that experience many times in many ways (and after going through the archives of this blog a few minutes ago, I’m so glad that’s true! So many sweet, funny, and beautiful memories!).

Your birth father, C, recently started a blog of his own called Cigarettes & Coffee (hence the name of this blog…just so you know it was a title, not a recommendation. Except for coffee, because it’s a life source). He, too, was moved by World Adoption Day, especially since it had touched his life in more ways that one. And for the first time, he wrote about his experience with your adoption.

C and I have had our love story and our…not-so-loving story. Teenage pregnancy is hard, and our relationship was no exception to the toll it can take on young love. We went from best friends, to lovers and partners, to strangers, and (luckily, happily) back to best friends. But today, this is actually not about my story or my perspective…it’s about his.

It wasn’t until yesterday, when we were talking back and forth about his blog before he posted it, that we realized we have never talked about our during- and post-pregnancy experiences – not since we became friends again. We have a coffee date (no cigarettes) planned for over the holidays to fix that. I’m so looking forward to it, which makes me even more grateful for our renewed friendship.

C’s capacity for openness and vulnerability are palpable in the telling of his story. His blog has the ability to touch so many…if there is anyone the adoption community hears less from than birth mothers, it’s birth fathers. I think his voice will be so appreciated.

And hopefully the person his voice touches the most, is you. He loves you so much. We’ve all been through our own journeys thanks to your amazing presence, and his is just as beautiful and life-changing and all of ours. I can’t wait to see what all you learn from him as you continue to grow.

Enjoy the insight into his heart and mind here.

I love you, Little Man.

World Adoption Day

10 Nov

Dear Little Man,

Yesterday afternoon I was sifting through my Instagram feed when I came across this post from an actress I like:

world adoption day nina

Property of Nina Dobrev

Sharpie smiles? Happy faces? I like both of those! I checked it out and the photo caption indicated that they were celebrating something…World Adoption Day! Yesterday was the first ever World Adoption Day, an organization founded by many, but mostly pioneered by Adopt Together — a foundation that helps families raise money so that they can adopt (yes, having a heart big enough to lead you to adoption can cost a lot of money for the adoptive families!). It is “crowd funded,” meaning that the Adopt Together website raises money through donations of friends, family and even strangers. Yet another reminder of the power of love and the compassion that exists between people around the world :)

World Adoption Day invited people all over the world (and their friends and family) to post a photo of a “hands up smiley face” with the hashtag, “#worldadoptionday” to bring attention to the cause, to the families trying to bring a child home…and to adoption in general!

I was so excited a.k.a I immediately jumped on PicStitch, found some of my favorite photos and made THIS so that I could contribute to World Adoption Day!

WAD instagram

You, me and The B’s across the years!

Any and every foundation that supports, promotes and/or raises money for adoption warms my heart. There are so many elemental, beautiful things about adoption: creating families, helping children, spreading and sharing love, caring for others…adoption is beautiful on so many levels, I could never list them all. Open adoption in particular…I know my son, he knows me (and his birth father, and our parents and friends), and we’ve all gained such amazing extended families out of it. Every one — especially birth mothers! — deserve the opportunity to be part of something as beautiful as this. Little Man even knows to call me his birth mother now (a post on that is absolutely coming!). Sometimes, it’s stunning how lucky I am, and it’s all thanks to adoption. An entire day devoted to bringing awareness to it? I’m absolutely on board.

As I said in my Instagram post…”Open adoption is the thing, y’all. Spread the word!”

Many thanks to Adopt Together, World Adoption Day and all of its founders, organizations and supporters!

And thank YOU, Little Man, for bringing all of this joy to my life in the first place. Happy (technically late) November 9th, 2014, Liam. I love you more than words.

Love,
Renee (“Birth Mom” as you call me now :D)

And, of course, my official photo for #WorldAdoptionDay!

WAD smile

Check out World Adoption Day’s Facebook Page and “like” it to see all of the smiles!

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