Dini and Andrew
Hello! We are Dini and Andrew.
We are looking forward to being parents and our hearts are open to the possibilities of open adoption. Writing this letter is a big step along this path we’re choosing. We have a great deal of respect and compassion for you as you figure out which decisions are best for you and your child.
Here’s a little bit about us. We have known each other for approximately 24 years. We met at a summer camp during our very early teen years. We liked each other immediately and an irreplaceable friendship began the very day we met. It wasn’t until a few years later that a romance blossomed. We’ve been together as a couple for 17 years and married for 14 years. We enjoy each other’s company whether it’s hanging out in our own home or traveling together in a foreign country. We find a great deal of comfort in one another and our connection has thrived during both challenging and easy times.
We call the Pacific Northwest home and live among great neighbors, parks, schools, and playgrounds. Each season brings different opportunities to have fun. Our family and friends join us on adventures throughout the year. We also like to travel several times a year to both local and distant places. We spend summer days taking long walks with our dog, going on picnics, gardening and spending time in our yard, canoeing, and going on occasional camping trips. During the cooler and rainy months we still go on long walks around our neighborhood, but we also enjoy the warmth of our home. Working on our house, watching movies, playing games with friends, and listening to music are some of our favorite winter activities. Dini brings out her silly side singing and dancing to the latest hip-hop songs. Andrew prefers to sing along with more folksy music, or “whiney music” as Dini jokingly calls it. Fortunately, we both love all types of music so we end up with some pretty eclectic playlists.
Andrew is a veterinarian and Dini is a naturopathic doctor. Both Andrew and Dini’s jobs allow for flexible schedules. Dini is planning on being home with our child most of the time and working part time when Andrew stays home. We feel strongly about being home and available to raise a child. After having spent many years in graduate school focusing on our careers and being of service within our professions, we are now ready and eager to focus on caring for a child.
We have a tremendous amount of joy, nurturing, and love to give to a child. We look forward to creating a home atmosphere in which it is fun for a child to learn and in which there is ample time to be playful. We look forward to playing at the neighborhood playgrounds, romping around our yard with our sweet dog Maple, enjoying the comfort of our home, dancing and singing around the house to fun music, reading books out loud using goofy voices, having picnics indoors when it’s raining, constructing all sorts of things with building blocks, playing games, and simply enjoying being in the moment. We will encourage curiosity and will delight in our child’s discovery of who they are and the world around them. We will do all we can to provide what our child needs to thrive in the world and enjoy life, such as a quality education, a supportive community, guidance, encouragement, love, acceptance, and attunement to their individual needs.
We are thrilled to be a part of an open adoption. We both have siblings and cousins who were adopted and both of our families are multiracial. We have seen first hand how a loving and connected family can be formed through adoption and how familial love knows no bounds when it comes to race and ethnicity. We are pursuing open adoption because we believe it is the best opportunity for the child to develop a healthy sense of self and belonging. We are looking forward to having our child-to-be know his or her birthfamily and family history. We value open and empathetic communication and will incorporate this in our relationship with our child and with you. Open adoption provides children with as much love as possible from everyone involved. Sounds good to us! Thank you for taking the time to read our letter. We wish you all the best as you discover what is right for you and your child.
Sincerely,
Dini and Andrew