Molly and Matt
Hello!
We are Molly, Matt, and Maggie. Maggie is 11 and is our biological daughter. We also have a big dog, Murphy, and a sweet, old cat, Lily.
We are pretty health-conscious--both of us are Naturopathic Physicians and Nutrition professors. Luckily, our jobs are quite flexible so we are able to spend lots of time with Maggie. Some activities we enjoy as a family are: biking, hiking, gardening, going to baseball games, relaxing, and traveling. It’s our goal to travel all around the world. We have a few very close friends and have made them our family because our families live so far away. But all of our friends and family are supportive, loving, kind, and so much fun!
Maggie was diagnosed with Rett Syndrome when she was five. Rett Syndrome is a nervous system disorder that primarily affects females. Maggie will always be more like a one-year-old than her actual age. But, she seems happy and can walk and play and laugh! We are advocates for people with disabilities and are involved in the Northwest Rett Syndrome Foundation.
About Matt (in Molly’s words)
Matt is the best dad! He calls Maggie his best buddy. He takes her everywhere because he doesn’t want her to be left out and is very patient with her. He probably wouldn’t admit this, but he is very sentimental—I love that about him. Matt is incredibly smart! For example, he can remember baseball stats from 1972, knows who the 5th vice president was, and knows medication doses off the top of his head. Luckily for us, he is also very goofy and will do a (bad) dance at the drop of a hat. He is a gifted musician—he recorded a CD recently—and is a wonderful teacher and doctor.
About Molly (in Matt’s words)
Molly is the best mom. She is very conscientious about making Maggie look pretty, making sure she has a full tummy, and gets to do something fun every day. Even though we don’t know if she understands or not, Molly spends time trying to teach Maggie how the world works. I know that she will be so touched to have those conversations with someone who can actually talk back to her. Molly is also a rare combination of artist, teacher, and scientist-a truly well-rounded woman. She is a great photographer, crochets and sews amazing crafts, and teaches anatomy to all types of students without any difficulty.
We love Maggie so much, but we are missing out on the experience of parenting a typically developing child because of her disability. We want to see our next child grow, learn, discover, and love. We want to be able to provide a good education and teach them about the world. We chose open adoption because we feel that it is best for the child. Maggie will definitely love and benefit from having a sibling. We hope that our new child will become more sensitive and empathetic as a result of having Maggie as a sister.
Thank you for reading our letter. We really look forward to meeting you!
Sincerely,
Molly, Matt, and Maggie