by Gayle Swift | May 10, 2017 | Blogs by Gayle Swift, General Discussion
Mother’s Day and Father’s Day focus attention on the importance of our job as parents. To our children, we are the life raft in which they find security, love, affirmation, and shared history. We educate, coach, and counsel. We serve as confidants and strive to...
by Gayle Swift | Apr 19, 2017 | Blogs by Guests, General Discussion
We shared the recent Easter weekend with my son’s birth mother and grandmother. How apropos it seemed to be celebrating this holiday which focuses on resurrection and new life. After living a closed adoption for twenty years, twelve years ago my son and his birth...
by Gayle Swift | Apr 5, 2017 | General Discussion
Recently, an adult adoptee shared with me a letter that she wrote when she was ten years old. It reflects directly on our recent blog regarding the need to listen deeply to adoptees and affirm both the positive and the challenging impact that adoption imposes on their...
by GIFT Coach | Feb 15, 2017 | Blogs by Gayle Swift, General Discussion
Adoption matters; Talk about it! For far too many years adoption was buried under layers of secrecy. People considered it a sensitive subject. Off limits. Some parents kept adoptees in the dark. Families mentioned it only in whispers. Adoptees absorbed the subtle...
by GIFT Coach | Oct 26, 2016 | Blogs by Gayle Swift, General Discussion, Strengthening Family Relationships
As we discussed in a recent blog, adoptive families are often questioned in one way or another about who the “REAL” relationship figures are in their lives. These questions land like a sucker punch to the chest. Sometimes we can quickly recenter ourselves...