Abby’s Letter

Abby is a social worker and a Doctor of Social Welfare, and she was the first friend we made as a couple. She is funny, loud, and compassionate, and always speaks her mind. Early in her career, she actually spent a few years working for an international adoption program.

I have known Nina and Galen for the last two years, and being part of their world has been a fabulous experience. I write this letter wholeheartedly in support of their pursuit of adoption – any child placed with them will be an incredibly lucky kid.

There is nothing quite like being invited into Nina and Galen’s home. Whenever I go, I know I will be greeted with delighted, enthusiastic hugs, as if they’ve been waiting all day just to see me. I’ll have a cozy, warm place to sit, and smell whatever cooking creation they’re working on that day – homemade cheesecakes (they made ten for their own wedding!) or pizza from scratch for a group of 10 friends. Nina will tell me a funny story about their beloved cats. Galen will help me fix something with my phone or computer. Most of all, I know that when I go, I’ll get to see Nina and Galen look at each other with so much open love and adoration, my heart twangs- it’s obvious how lucky they feel to have each other. 

I love the story of how they met, not realizing at first how perfect they were for each other because it felt so easy, they thought it must not be right! As their relationship grew, they learned more about what it meant to deeply trust and connect with someone, to be seen as your whole self, warts and all, and be so loved anyway. Nina and Galen are the kinds of people who have taken every opportunity to reflect meaningfully on who they are and on what matters to them, and to have rich, full lives. I am continually amazed at the way they choose to take hardship as an opportunity to become more reflective, sensitive and loving.

Nina and Galen are two of the kindest, gentlest and most compassionate people I know. They laugh easily and often. They are both brilliant and silly, in turn. They are generous and fiercely loving. They’re often the people I turn to when I am struggling the most, knowing that Galen will intuitively know just what to say, and that Nina will understand why I feel the way I do. They epitomize what it means to accept and love someone for exactly who they are. Nina, who is so active and graceful and excitable, and pulls Galen out of his head. Galen, who is so gentle and calm, steadies Nina’s expansive energy. They will both swear that the other is the kindest person they’ve ever met, and both fill their lives with music, homemade food, friends, family and active pursuits. 

These two are meant to be parents, and their incredibly lucky children will be deeply loved, desperately wanted and thoroughly adored for the rest of their lives.

Abby