OA&FS Prospective Adoptive Families - Dear Birthparents Letter
From Ben and Michael
Dear Birthparents,
We’re Ben (left) and Michael (right) with our dog, Velma. Good to meet you! At the risk of sounding like a bad personals ad, here is some basic stuff you should know about us:
We decided early in our relationship (almost six years ago) that we would be dads, and we’re so excited it’s happening!
We live in a quiet, urban neighborhood where people know and look out for each other, and where we can walk to the park or take public transportation to work.
Ben is a university professor in child and family studies, and Michael is a public health program manager.
We both love hiking, being outside, traveling, playing board-games with friends, hanging out with our families, and playing with Velma (the most perfect dog ever).
As we tried to describe ourselves in this letter (then scrapped it and started all over again … twice), we realized it might make more sense to let you know how other people in our lives describe us. Here’s what they said:
About Ben:
“Ben is a natural storyteller: he looks for the potential story in every situation and has a way of capturing people’s attention and imagination.”
“In the middle of a work meeting, Ben says, ‘did you know that Pluto has been downgraded from a planet to a planette? Can you believe it? What the heck is a planette?!”
“Ben will never eat a tomato in its natural state, but will almost always consume it once it’s been pulverized. He is the only vegetarian I know who won’t eat mushrooms.”
“Ben makes me laugh when I’ve been crying, and he finds beauty in things like pennies on the
sidewalk.”
About Michael:
“When I think of Michael, I think of his fun projects and ‘I-can-make-that!’ attitude.”
“Michael has a gentle soul that touches my heart and makes me feel like I can trust him with my life.”
“Michael will keep his kids warm with designer knitwear, teach them to make pesto from scratch, and introduce them to music that keeps them spunky.”
“I love that Michael shows his love for others through food (he makes a mean mac-n-cheese).”
Although some say we’re more alike than different, Ben is a head person (he’s political and loves words, books, and ideas), and Michael is a heart person (he’s dreamy and an excellent cook). Together, we make a couple that is intuitive and rational, caring and challenging, committed and flexible. We are excited to spoil our children rotten with love and attention, and to encourage them to do their part to make the world a better place.
From the very beginning, we have known we want our adoption to be open. We want our kids to know and be connected with the families they come from. We want to have that connection, too...not only for our kids, but for ourselves as parents. We can’t wait to meet you, to celebrate with you, and to welcome you (as fully as you want to be) into our next holiday, birthday, wedding, or outdoor four-square championship. You are welcome at our table.
For this family's complete adoptive parent profile, please contact Open Adoption and Family Services
