This guest post is by Kim Wallis, a hopeful adoptive mother. It is part of A Dad’s Devotion, a month-long series of original stories related to adoption, fatherhood and Father’s Day.
I think I was luckier than most daughters because I had two dads. I was adopted when I was 15 by my step-father — probably not an age that most think of when adoption comes to mind. He’d been co-parenting me since I was 7 when he married my mom.
Our new family moved for a few years to Singapore from Canada, where I am from, and then for good to Raleigh, North Carolina when I was 12. It then became apparent that adoption would be the best for me as my relationship with my biological dad had become more difficult as his ability to parent across the miles was near impossible. Continue reading
My wife and I started our adoption journey approximately a year ago. During this time we’ve been contacted five times by prospective birth moms. Unfortunately none of these contacts worked out for various reasons beyond our control. I am not sure how typical this experience is for couples pursuing open adoption, but I wanted to share a few things I’ve learned through these experiences. 
I came out during The Reagan Years. I was twenty-years-old and parenthood was not at the forefront of my mind. This was not because I was young.
On Father’s Day this year, my wife and I will celebrate like we do every year. We’ll both call our fathers and wish them a great day, then we’ll go out and barbecue with some close friends who have children.
“The birthfather just arrived,” my wife said to me in a text message. “Don’t worry, you’ll like him. He’s really easy to talk to.”
Open and honest. That’s a phrase which has been used around our house a lot in the past 13 months. We have used that phrase as the base for every discussion in that time. We made a commitment to be open and honest with everyone in this family on every topic because the pain of secrecy had almost ripped us all apart. 
I’ve always had positive feelings toward adoption. For one reason or another, I just always assumed I would have biological kids. However, I can’t say I’ve ever had a drive to have a little one with my DNA. While reproduction is supposedly an innate drive, my interest in becoming a father is more about loving a little one (and later a big one) and helping in their development and growth. 
It was a Wednesday afternoon in Tucson, Arizona and my wife, Kala, was up in Prescott Valley taking our son’s birthmother “A” to a doctor’s appointment.
This is the dream of thousands of men every year, and it was my dream too — to adopt a newborn and finally become a daddy.
When we think about adoption and Father’s Day, it brings a flood of memories. Our own, and memories created by our clients, which we have been privileged to share.