Dear Parent
Hi. Thank you for reading this, and for giving us the opportunity to introduce ourselves.
We are Dave and Amy, Amy and Dave. Known that way by pretty much everyone who knows us, because we come as a pair. We’ve been together for 13 years, through thick and thin, sickness and health, and all over the world. Let us tell you a little about ourselves!
Where We’re From
We’re both originally British; Dave is from northern Scotland and Amy is from southern England. We met at university in Edinburgh, both on the same undergraduate course, and were friends before we started dating. We quickly became inseparable. We moved to Canada in 2011 for Dave’s work, and liked it so much that we stayed! We are now naturalized and can’t imagine living anywhere else.
As most of our close family aren’t based in Canada, we do travel back to the UK to visit them, as well as our friends who still live there. This is sometimes over the holidays (Christmas is a fun time to go back) or for other occasions, and sometimes just when we’ve been missing the lochs and glens too much. Dave’s parents still live in his childhood home, and it’s a gorgeous part of the world (full of mountains and castles) so it’s usually a lot of fun.
We are very close to Dave’s parents and see them quite a bit given the distance. They are kind, patient, gentle people who are happy to be a part of their children’s and grandchildren’s lives. They’ve always been the first people Dave turns to for advice and help. They’re very familiar with Canada and come over every summer for an extended visit. We rely on them so much, for moral and practical support, and are extremely lucky to have them.
Amy’s family have moved about quite a bit, and are more spread out now, but we still see them frequently. We are very close to Amy’s brother and his family, and are the godparents and next-of-kin legal guardians for both of his young children. Amy also has a large extended family, who we keep in close contact with.
Where We Live
We are now firmly rooted in SW Ontario, in a traditional family home with a huge yard and two dogs, Pearl and Jasper (both rescue greyhounds and the biggest cuddle-bugs you could ever meet). We are surrounded by friends who have become like family, and by a community we love. It’s very family-friendly, and we chose it because it’s a good place to put down roots.
Our home here in Canada suits us perfectly. It’s not big and it’s not fancy, and we’ve been updating and improving it ever since we moved in. It may not be the prettiest house on the block, but it’s warm and welcoming, and it’s our Home.
We have multiple schools within walking distance (French immersion, Catholic, regular elementary and high schools) as well as parks and churches. It’s a family-friendly neighbourhood, with a lot of kids, but still close enough to the city to still be able to access amenities.
Our Community
It was important to us, when we first moved to Canada, to build strong ties within our community. We now have lots of friends locally, many of whom we know we can rely on when we need help, support, or fun! These are close relationships we’ve built over time, and constitute our “Canada Family.” No matter the time, day or reason, we’re there for them and they’re there for us.
These relationships didn’t appear overnight; they took time and effort, and we’ve both worked at it from different angles. Amy is a keen volunteer, and has over time volunteered with both the local women’s shelter and the local animal shelter. Amy is now a board member, community contact and volunteer manager for an animal welfare non-profit (all in a volunteer capacity), and works with community agencies to help animals and people in need. She also runs fundraising drives, with Dave’s help.
Dave pitches in wherever he can (for example, he’s Santa for holiday fundraisers) but has hobbies of his own too. He’s a member of a dodgeball league and a curling league. He also plays guitar, and has weekly jam sessions with friends – just for fun.
Although we have a lot of activities and hobbies that we enjoy separately, we also like to spend time together and with friends, just having fun, being silly, or visiting something interesting. We love exploring the outdoors and gardening, going to the movies, or settling in with friends for a board game night or a big meal.
Our Work
We’re both fortunate to have had lots of academic opportunities in our lives: Dave has a PhD in Astrophysics, and Amy has a Masters in Finance. Dave worked as a research scientist for a long time (this was the reason we moved to Canada), but has since transitioned into the tech sector, as it provides a more stable career.
Amy has previously worked as both a scientist and a financier, but is now a freelance writer and author, with several published books; she works from home and sets her own hours, which provides a lot of flexibility and means she can be a stay-at-home mum.
Our Future Family
We have no kids right now, but have always talked about adopting – it always felt right for us. This has partly been influenced by Amy’s health, which unfortunately has not always been perfect. Amy has had health issues since childhood, and will always require some degree of health management. Luckily medication, routine and lifestyle all help her to be well most of the time, and we don’t expect that to change. We manage the few limitations we have very well. It has meant, however, that pursuing a pregnancy of our own was considered too risky.
We know that adopting comes with its own challenges, and we’re prepared to meet them head on. That’s how we roll – we are natural problem solvers, not afraid of hard work or awkward situations. When we encounter something difficult, we figure it out. When someone is having a tough time, we help them. That may sound straightforward, but it’s who we are and how we were raised, and it extends to everyone. We are by nature liberal and open-minded, and fully aware of how lucky we are and our responsibility to share that luck.
We don’t have any expectations for our future kids or who they’ll be, or what our extended family will look like. Our belief is that family is about unconditional support and love, and that it comes in many forms. This includes adopted family, extended family and birth family. There can never be too many people loving a child, and we are committed to making room for everyone important in our child’s life. It may not always be easy, but we’ll always strive to do the right thing and support everyone in our family, no matter how they came to us.
Us As Parents
We know that you have some incredibly difficult decisions to make about what’s best for your child’s welfare, and all we can be is open and honest about who we are and who we hope to be as parents, and how we would try to raise your child. Empathy, thoughtfulness and caring is at the centre of our values. Religion, habits, traditions and activities all come second to basic kindness. As hopeful future parents, we think that the best way we can teach a child these values is by example – children deserve the same respect, time and patience as adults, and it’s only by treating them as the unique individuals they are that we can able to help them become the best people they can be. Love is at the centre of everything we do.
Thank you for reading; if you have any questions please contact us!
Amy & Dave
