Family Traditions: Birthday Lunch Date with Your Birth Mom

by Lindsey Redfern on August 29th, 2012 | 1 Comment »

Family traditions are a big deal in this household. My husband and I suffer from infertility and adding children to our family has been extremely difficult. We have two little boys who found their way into our family through the absolute miracle of adoption.

We celebrate open adoption in our family and consider the boys' biological families our own. One of the traditions we recently started as the boys have gotten older is having a Skype lunch date with their birth mothers on their birthdays.

I believe birthdays are a special and unique celebration between child and biological parents. It's their special day together. Even though we live far away from the birth mothers of our kiddos, we make an effort to stay in close, tender contact.

When my oldest son turned 5, we arranged for a lunch date with his birth mom via Skype. They sat and ate together, chatted about what a fun day he was having, enjoyed a food they both love and had a grand time. All I did was set it up, they did the rest because they have a fabulous relationship.

It's just one way or tradition we have to honor our son's roots and celebrate family.

Does your family have any birthday traditions? Do share!

Lindsey Redfern writes about infertility, adoption, and celebrating family at "The R House." An open adoption advocate, she and two best friends created "The R House Couture"—a boutique of handmade sterling silver keepsakes. She and her husband own an adoption consulting firm called "The R House Adoption Consultants." She and her house of boys love anything to do with trains, Star Wars, and BYU football.