This is for all mothers everywhere– and especially for mothers in need who choose adoption.

Because for the past 341 months, Abrazo has been blessed to know and work with the very best mothers of all.

Abrazo opened the first week of 1994 and this agency exists for mothers in need. In the 1,527 weeks since then, we have served thousands of women across Texas and beyond, with and without children.

We’ve worked with females from all walks of life, of all races and religions. And motherhood was the one thing they all had in common– whether they were mothers, wanted to become mothers, or had mothers whose presence (or lack of it) had impacted their lives in some lasting way. 

It’s been our good fortune to get to know many of the mothers of the females we serve. Birthgrandmothers and adoptive grandmothers can often be an invaluable support to their children in the adoption process. So many come to mind! We can’t mention everyone by name, of course. This Mother’s Day weekend, though, we remember with love the many matriarchs (past and present) who have mothered so well and paid it forward by raising another generation of amazing daughters.

For mothers in need that place

We are forever thankful for mothers in need who have turned to Abrazo in times of crisis pregnancy or traumatic motherhood.

Birthmothers are truly some of the most selfless and giving mothers we know, because they put the futures of their child/ren before the desires of their own hearts. In another life and time, with a different set of circumstances, they would never choose to not parent their babies themselves. To choose adoption is never easy, and the outcome is not always one that betters their own path in life.

But when they choose adoption because they have no other way to protect their child/ren from harm and cannot bear to see their kids go without that which they need most, they remind us why working for mothers in need means witnessing some of life’s greatest acts of love.

And birthmothers who choose open adoption give their children an additional gift. That’s the assurance of the lasting bond they share, one that no adoption can put asunder. It isn’t easy to stick around and see your child growing up in another’s home, true. But to have the grace to forever love the child you placed and to respect and appreciate the parents who are raising him/her/them is to give affirmation to them and to yourself.

For mothers in need that adopt

It takes a special woman to open her heart and her home to a child borne to and by another woman, of course. And the very best of adoptive mothers are drawn to nurture not just that child but his/her/their birthfamily, as well. Abrazo has been privileged to work for mothers in need who come into our program broken by infertility losses. Yet through open adoption, they rise like the phoenix to become the most extraordinary of mothers.

They are the ones who know that adoption is a life journey that doesn’t end when a child is placed in their arms. These are the women who seek out their adopted child/ren’s birthparents, when they don’t hear from them for too long, to be sure their child/ren’s people are doing okay. These mothers educate the world around them about the value of open adoption, about the needs of their children, and who tirelessly pack their family for Camp Abrazo summer after summer because they value the power of their adoption community.

Too often, the best of adoptive moms carry untold burdens. They suffer in silence when their kids struggle in school or get in trouble or find themselves pregnant or fail to thrive in whatever way. They set such high standards for themselves, they worry that they’ve somehow let the birthparents down or failed to meet that invisible parenting mark of excellence. But they never give up on their desire to help turn things around for their child/ren, and they’ve always left the proverbial welcome light on for the birthfamily. And this is why they earn our undying respect, no matter how many years go by.

Thank you, mothers

For moms who place and for mothers that adopt, thank you. For the mothers who support their daughters throughout life’s challenges and love them unconditionally, thank you. And for mothers who carry babies knowing they won’t be the ones to parent them, yet choose life and then choose adoption, thank you.

And for the mothers who suffer great personal loss and still find room to nurture and adore a child from someone else’s womb, thank you. For adoptees who become mothers themselves and glean from the experience a greater appreciation for both the moms in their lives, bless you.

Finally: for mothers in need who have yet to find the peace and the answers for which they long,  be assured that Abrazo is (still) here to help you… because our name means “embrace,” and that is exactly what motherhood is all about.