I did not grow up in a religious family so when we started talking about having Godparents for our kid, I thought of it mostly as "these are the people we've decided should take in our kid if we both get hit by a bus". I had no thoughts of what Godparents might do beyond show up in my hypothetical tragedy.
It's just as well I didn't think too much about it because I couldn't begin to imagine all the ways Andreana and Joan have showed up for our family. They logged countless hours in the hospital with Simon when he was a baby. They are the ones I called to take Laura to the hospital at 3 am when she was having a gall bladder attack so that I could stay with Simon. They learned how to do tube feedings and give meds and changed diapers for YEARS. They are the only other people besides my mother who have taken him on overnights. They are the first people we call when we have a sudden pothole in childcare and there has never been a time that they turned down a request unless they absolutely had to. They are as close in with us as one family can get to another.
Another thing to know about these two is that they have been trying to have a child for years. Not one or two years. YEARS. They have both endured expensive, painful, unpleasant infertility treatments, paid crazy fees to adoption agencies, been grilled and inspected and assessed by government officials to determine if they are "suitable". It's been grueling. So grueling that they were getting really close to saying "I give" and being done with the ceaseless brutality of trying to become parents in the face of countless obstacles. So close they had almost set a firm deadline for the date the grind would stop. And then....
And then some magic happened. Out of the blue, the birth mother of their dreams picked them. Oh, by the way, she's due In less than 2 weeks!
Because of the tight timeline, our beloved framily members are facing unexpected costs, including a hefty out-of-state fee from the birth mother's adoption agency that can normally be avoided by having the birth mother come to the state of the adoptive parents, but...no cross country travelling when you're 8 1/2 months pregnant!
As a tiny way of helping give back to these two amazing women who are at the very core of Team Shimmy and helped us and Simon all stay alive, we have started a Gofundme page to help raise money for their additional costs. If any of you readers have been wondering about concrete ways to help Team Shimmy, here is your chance.
http://www.gofundme.com/Andreana-Joanbaby
These two people define what it means to show up for someone else. I can't wait to get a chance to try to balance the scales when the newest member of our family arrives.
Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!! We're having a baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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| In the courtroom just after I adopted Simon |
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| At our wedding at the hospital |
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| At the hospital when Simon had ear tube surgery |
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| Smoochin with Auntie Dre |
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| At city hall, marking Joan and Andreana's domestic partnership |
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| Goo goo eyes with Auntie Joan |
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| Baking! |
