Pictures are Worth a Thousand Smiles

How-to-write-a-cover-letterWendy Lane has put together a three-part blog series that talks about the significance of adoptive families and birth families exchanging pictures and letters. This is part two of the series.

Adoptive parents often make a commitment to send pictures and letters to their child’s birth mother on a regular basis. This blog is intended to give a window into what may happen after you send the pictures and write the letters. Each story is unique, but they all speak to the ways in which keeping a connection to your child’s birth family via pictures and letters is an expression of love, gratitude and respect for their role in your child’s life.

Part II

As I started writing this blog series, I had the opportunity to read a letter that was forwarded to me. A birthmother wrote it to the adoptive family, less than one year after placement. Her words are from the heart and express thoughts that had been tumbling around in her head for a while. Here is an excerpt from the two-page letter:

“… I think about you every day and how much of a beautiful blessing you are to your mother and father. Every time I get pictures in the mail or letters, it is the best feeling in the world. To look at those photos and to see you smiling and growing does wonders to my heart…I know you love your mother and father so much, and they love you more. I can tell they fell in love with you the first time they met and held you. I will continue to pray for peace, love, happiness and good health for your family.”

This excerpt truly emphasizes how important the pictures and letters are to this birthmother. It also gives some insight into how much this birth mother loves the child that she gave birth to.