A Month of Gratitude: Day 17

 Day 17: Claire

There are five people in my life that I will always have the utmost respect and love for. They are: My husband, my two children, and the two women who are responsible for making me a mother.

I'm thankful for open adoption for so many reasons, but it's when I see my children with their birth families, that I feel so blessed. There's something so beautiful about seeing the joy on everyone's faces when coming together for one common purpose. A beautiful, amazing child that we share.

Open adoption isn't for everyone. There are times when it's hard, but I guess you have to be wired a specific way to be able to put your own insecurities and desires aside, and see things for how they'll benefit your child. For me, I'll do anything to make my children happy, and one of the easiest ways to do that, is to make sure that they're always connected to their biological families.

I'm devoting this post to Gus's birth mom, Claire. She is an amazing person and I've grown to love her so much as we've become one united family for Gus. Here are some of my favorite pictures of her with Gus over the years.

I just adore her. I love the sweet tender moments that they share together. The simple looks they give each other, the little things like his hand on her leg, her hands on his shoulders, walking hand in hand. They are all precious and touching, and mean the world to me as his mama.

I admire the bravery it took for her to sign TPR (termination of parental rights). She didn't know us at all, and yet, trusted us with the one thing that meant more than anything else in the world. The very least that we could do was to allow her to remain a vital part of his life. She matters and always will.

We will see her again next week when we go north for Thanksgiving and I cannot wait to share more memories with her. As Gus is getting older, he's more aware of the relationships between his family members. He has always had a special bond with Claire, and it's always been obvious to everyone around. He's always trusted her and been drawn to her and it's incredible to see. 

I'm thankful for Claire and for her willingness to trust us to be Gus's parents. She gave us the greatest gift that we've ever known and we love her so deeply. 

Not all open adoptions are like ours. In fact, ours is totally unique because there's only one Gus. We know that not all birth families are fortunate enough to receive emails, pictures, videos, texts, and visits with their children. Not all adoptive parents are able to connect their children with their birth parents, and would give anything to have a picture of their child with their birth mom. 

We are so incredibly blessed and so grateful for all that God has given us.