My Birth Daughter's Annual Thanksgiving Letter by Terri Rimmer

November 23, 2016

Dear McKenna,

Yes, we're on your 16th annual Thanksgiving letter.

There are many things I'm thankful for this year and you are at the top of my list.

I made a gratitude list in my head yesterday and, of course, I couldn't help but think of you as I do every day.

When people find out about my adoption choice, they always ask questions, which to me are silly, but I guess to them are not.

Things like: Do I love you? Do I think about you?

And, you know the answers to both of these questions is “Absolutely.”

It's been a good year.

You are my inspiration, my muse, my heart.

I love your sense of humor, what makes you you, everything about you.

Most of all I love that you have had such a great life and you have a wonderful life ahead of you.

I'm so glad that Vicki and Larry are raising you.

It has always comforted me.

I always love hearing about the things you are doing, funny things you say, your accomplishments and I'm so proud of your achievements.

But I also just love you because of who you are inside.

The other day I was remembering the mural that hung in your nursery that Vicki and Larry made before you were born that said: “The best part of you is who you are inside.”

I remember when they took a picture of that part of the mural and mailed that to me when I was pregnant how much I loved that!

One thing that I'm very grateful about is that Gladney now has an Outreach program to help birth moms that is far reaching that was not in place when I lived there. I'm so glad for that.

You have accomplished so much this year – getting your license, band achievements, getting your first job, performances, great progress with your eating.

I can't believe I have a teenage daughter who's driving. Feels so weird to write!

I always looked forward to seeing my sister Cindy, among others, at the holidays.

We'd go Christmas shopping and often times she'd bring me a big box of sweaters she didn't want any more.

That was a real treat!

We'd usually go to the movies, look at Christmas lights, and just hang out.

Those are also things I'm grateful for, too.

I love you and hope you have a great Thanksgiving!

Love,
Terri



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

McKenna's Annual Thanksgiving Letter

Nov. 22, 2018 Dear McKenna: Eighteen years ago I sat down to write your very first Thanksgiving letter when I was 34 years old and you were spending your first Thanksgiving with your mom and dad. I was working as a data entry operator, living with a roommate, the re-make of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” with Jim Carey just came out, and I had a Tonkinese cat named Chaplin and a mutt, Ripley who charmed everyone. I remember when I sat down to write that letter at my roommate’s computer looking out at his French door windows at his back yard and all the emotions I was feeling at the time – imagining you with your family at Thanksgiving, happy that you were safe and warm in your new home, content that I had made the right decision, and thankful that I could sit down and type those words to you. I had always promised myself that every birthday, Thanksgiving, and Christmas I would sit down and write a letter to you and though I missed a couple, which I reg...
Read more

What Would I Do If I Got a Second Chance? by Terri Rimmer - originally published by Associated Content, 2010

I wouldn't have given "me" away in  relationships  and in the desperate pursuit to be loved. Do you know if you or someone you love has the symptoms of sexual dependency? According to a a Sexual Dependency Program brochure from Coral Ridge Psychiatric Hospital in Ft. Lauderdale, FL behavior patterns of those suffering from sexual dependency may include but are not limited to multiple extramarital affairs and repeated incidents of sexual harassment among others. "My sex addiction was not something that was easily talked about, and when I did talk about it I was told to '˜stop my denial process and concentrate on my allergy to alcohol.' I was told time and again, '˜Don't drink and go to (AA) meetings,'" says David R. "I became abstinent from alcohol. I am now experiencing a level of sobriety that in the past I could only have wished for. We who are recovering from the shame of sexual addiction are truly miracles." According to...
Read more

Published Letter in Fort Worth Weekly - May 2010

Unhealthy Costs 0 Posted May 26, 2010 by John Q. Public in  News To the editor:  Fort Worth Weekly ’s recent cover story, “ The Cost of Staying Alive ” (May 5, 2010),  showed the true picture of the healthcare reform and really hit home for me. My asthma inhaler is $84, even with  Medicare , so I have to get samples from the doctor, but there are limits to that too. Now I’ve read that a lot of doctors like mine are jumping ship and will no longer accept Medicare due to the health reform bill. Then there is my 9-year-old daughter, whom I had to place for adoption because I couldn’t take care of her. She’s had a feeding tube since she was two years old, due to food aversion, but the insurance company won’t cover her dental expenses though they are directly related to her medical condition. Luckily her adoptive parents are both nurses, but even they struggle sometimes with the costs related to her care. Thank you for letting others see through a ...
Read more