Newport Beach FD Dares to Dance!

A few weeks back an old friend asked me if Fifi and I would be interested in making an appearance in the Newport Beach Fire Department's Dare to Dance Challenge Video. (Boy, say that 10x fast!)

I thought to myself, "I really want Finley's Birthmom to get to experience this." Afterall, Leelee would text me often and say how amazing every single video she saw was. I knew I wanted her there, and luckily the NBFD was very accepting of my request! You may be thinking, ofcourse they were accepting.. No- not always the case. I recently told a <newer> friend that I wanted to have Leelee join in at an upcoming event and she said, "Really, why?!" Like why would I want to include her in an event I didn't have to.  I technically never have to, I get to. 

 I'm aware that our open adoption can confuse people or make them uncomfortable. And that's okay.  I guess it's just like everything else that's not perceived as 'normal' and some people just don't understand it. You see, it's my job as an advocate and as a member of an adoption triad- to do my best to make it feel normal to people. 

Part of why Open Adoption is so amazing is that I get to share my thankfulness constantly. The woman that chose to give life to her child and then chose to place that life in my hands gets to see how grateful and in love, with said child, we are. She gets to experience parts of our daughter's life & Finley will get to experience parts of her birthmother- something that wouldn't happen if it were a closed adoption. 

This doesn't mean either of us are extra "strong" or "selfless" - it just means we cumulatively want to continue to do the best for Finley. 

So, there's my two cents on that! Haha! #endlecture - I'm so excited to share this video! https://vimeo.com/182461277

Thank you so much to everyone who came out to participate in the video and everyone who had a hand in creating it! 

We love it!