When I placed Josie, I wanted to do something with my life to show her it was for something. To show her that she created a story, a ripple effect of sorts. I wanted her to be a driving force. And at the end of the day, I only do anything to make my kids, my husband, Josie, and God happy. If other people are happy with it, YAY. If not, who cares.
I started with hosting small adoptive couple retreats. I was terrified, highly unqualified, poor, and yet I felt like it needed to be done. I knew it was something I needed to do. So with the help of some good friends and my good husband, I made it happen.
I took a break for a while, still blogging. Then I got the drive to host retreats again from my friend. This time Birth Parent retreats! I was stoked. I planned the retreat with some very amazing people who i could not have done it without. The first one we had no money to finish the retreat with, 250 dollars to be exact. Yet, because of some very generous businesses we were able to fund it and make it happen.
One of the businesses was Courageous Choice which is a sister company to Adoption Network Law Center. Adoption Network Law Center has gotten a bad rep in some circles because of previous things by previous owners, but this company does amazing things to help the people they are involved with. In July of 2014 I was brought on by ANLC to start helping with their birth mother services. They knew they were lacking in a few areas and wanted to fix it. We started an awesome Birth Mother Mentoring Program. This means that the expectant mothers who decide to place with them are connected with a birth mother who has already been through the process. We speak to them, answer any questions they have, and are there when they need someone to cry to. I have seen beautiful friendships come from this mentoring program.
In fact I asked a few of the women who have been mentored to share their feelings on the mentoring program.
E said : I'm so blessed to have Nicole in my life because she can turn my day around when I'm down. She doesn't make me feel bad because I have the feelings I have. Nicole just accepts them and sympathizes with me. I can always count on Nicole to be there for me, she gives me advice on how to get through the bad days. Nicole just makes me smile by how she sets examples for other Birthmoms. overall Nicole continues to be a strong and amazing woman, mother and friend.
L said: Having a mentor, especially one like Amanda is probably one of the greatest tools and gifts I was given within the whole placement process. It's having a diary to vent to that listens and understands and gives you the best advice that you can receive at the time. Whenever I felt alone or anything it's like Amanda knew some how and she'd text me and check up on me. We talk about everything, even things not regarding my baby or adoption or my feelings about it all, it's much more than that. She's beyond a mentor to me, she's a friend, a friend who I bond with on such a deeper level than anyone else because she knows what I'm going through and if I ever need to talk about it I know she is the first person I will go to because she understands unlike any other person would.
I love that what I do matters. I love being excited to go to work on Monday. I work on planning retreats and helping birth mothers connect EVERY.SINGLE.DAY.
There are some people who don't understand what I do, and that is okay. Because the people who know me, who really know me, know that when it comes down to it, I will give the shirt off of my back for anyone who needed it. I would do anything I can to help a birth mom regardless of who she is and where she comes from. Because, no one deserves to feel alone. No one deserves to feel that they don't have support.
I will never be everyone's favorite person ever. I know there are some people who question what I do. But I know, the company I work for is AMAZING. They truly care about every person they come in contact with. They donate their own time an money to make these retreats happen. They are ethical. Most importantly, they care about birth parents. A LOT. They are always looking for opportunities to learn and be a better company. So awesome!
I love all you birth mamas, birth dads, adopting parents, hopeful adopting parents, adoptees, I care about all of you. We are all on the same team. We all want better ethics, education, and understanding within our world. So let's be on the same team. Let's be warriors TOGETHER.
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