When I first got involved in anti-adoption activism, I became friendly with several women in Australia. The Aussies are actually quite progressive when it comes to things like family preservation, guardianship, and preventing adoption, and it was easy (and educational) to make friends with people from there. To this day, I still have many of those friends, and I am frequently compelled to visit places like Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane so that I can visit them.
Hotels in Sydney look beautiful and are so much less expensive than I would have predicted! Hotels in Melbourne and hotels in Brisbane aren't bad either. I'm thinking if we planned to spend two weeks there, traveling around, visiting friends, and staying partially in hotels and partially in peoples' houses, it might be affordable enough. I'd like to wait until the kids are old enough to remember the trip, though. I'd also like to get back in touch with a few of the friends who have faded away over the years (due to poor health and sporadic internet access) before we go. I would hate to miss meeting them!
For now, here's a picture of one of the places my heart longs to be:
jessy @ 22:20 | comments(1) | Permanent link
We put our house up for rent last week, and we're in the process of looking for another house to buy. One of the things I've been noticing is that ceiling fans are very popular in the the newer houses. Since we are trying to go green and live more ecologically-sound lives, I do think fans have their place in our home. In the summer, they help to draw down the cool air, putting less of a demand on the central air, and in the winter, they can be switched to push down the warm air and requiring less fuel to heat the house.
I decided to look for some styles I might like, and found these craftmade ceiling fans that I rather liked. Then I found these fanimation ones, and I was sold. Some of them are very stylish and unique -- I like the idea of putting up a whole row of fans, or installing the "air shadow" style that expands and retracts (and is pretty in both positions). I've definitely got some thinking to do before I buy anything, but I would loe to get our fans in before winter so that we can save money (and propane) by conserving our heat when the weather outside gets frightful!
jessy @ 21:38 | comments(1) | Permanent link
Most of the posts I write here have to do with my job and are only loosely based on my real life, but this one is as real as it gets.
For the past six months, I have been working on a book that summarizes and explains the anti-adoption movement. It's called Unlearning Adoption: A Guide to Family Preservation and Protection, and it is now available in print. It suffices as a bit of a dummies' guide to anti-adoption thoughts and opinions; it's short, easy to read, and provides references and footnotes for all of the adoption facts mentioned within it.
I know most people who hear the words "against" and "adoption" used in the same sentence are usually rather shocked to learn that adoption is actually not a gentle and benevolent solution for unplanned pregnancy and orphaned or abused children. That's the only way we ever see adoption portrayed in the media, anyway, and that's certainly the way the billion dollar adoption industry would have us continue to see it.
I've worked with natural parents, adopted adults, and others whose lives have been impacted by adoption since I first questioned the act myself many years ago. Starting up a support organization for expectant parents has put me in touch with families who have lost children to unethical adoption practices, and still more families who were struggling to retain custody of their children despite pressure from adoption agencies to surrender them. Our adoption industry is no more ethical than most big businesses, it has simply managed to attain sacred cow status in a culture permeated with celebrity adoptions and adoption-happy media (not to mention wealthy pro-adoption lobbying groups like the NCFA -- and no, they aren't getting a link here).
Have you ever thought about adopting a child? Are you facing an unplanned pregnancy? Do you have a niggling suspicion that something about adoption needs to change? Would you just like to know more about adoption history and current adoption trends? Pick up a copy of Unlearning Adoption and get ready to think about children, families, and custody in a whole new way.
jessy @ 17:00 | comments(0) | Permanent link
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