A good day to start a blog

I’d planned to start this blog yesterday in honor of the 2nd annual blogging for LGBT Families day.  It should come as no surprise to any parent that parenting prevented that from happening!  Typical this and that–a 3 year old that tried every bedtime stalling tactic in the book, a baby who needed nursing through a growth spurt and 1 year molars.  But, since today is also a good day to start a blog, here I am.  

Every time I find myself getting bogged down in the day to day grind of parenthood and beginning to feel complacent about the fight for equality for our families,  I remind myself of our daughter’s adoption day.  My partner and I were both licensed as foster mothers for Olivia.  We both had equal standing and rights (or lack thereof, in some situations) for everyday decision-making and signing of papers.  Two and a half years after her placement in our home–into our family–I adopted her.  Even though we were allowed to foster her together, when the case moved into adoptions only one of us could apply.  While we were able to be open and out in the homestudy, only I was listed as the petitioner for adoption.  As we sat in the courtroom on January 20, 2006, I glanced over to see the tears in my partner’s eyes.  I knew that most of those tears were ones of happiness at finally knowing we would never recieve a phone call saying Olivia was being moved.  Some of those tears, though, were of sadness.  With the adoption finalized, Dawn had even fewer rights to our daughter than she did as a foster mother.  She could no longer sign off on medical paperwork, enroll her in school, or have an “official” title in terms of legality.  And this, my friends, is why we fight.