e d i t o r ’ s n ot e
Making Family and Memories
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tupid coronavirus. My kids say this every once in a while. I can’t help but agree with them. Especially when looking at what we are missing out on this winter. This time of year, we usually fly to spend the holidays with family. Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, we’d been saving up to do something a little different: travel to Hawaii to celebrate my brother-in-law’s 40th birthday and Christmas with the rest of my husband’s family, too. It would have been a chance for my kids to play with all their cousins. I’m an only child and I was very close to my cousins growing up, so even though my kids’ cousins live in Tennessee and New Jersey, I really want that for my kids, too. Two of their cousins, my nephews Rowan and Clyde, are part of our family because of the incredible generosity of a surrogate. While my brother-in-law and his husband live in New Jersey, they had to work with a fertility center in California that matched them with a gestational carrier in Massachusetts because compensated surrogacy was illegal in their home state. (Ironically, New Jersey legalized compensated surrogacy in May of 2018, when they brought their sons home from the hospital.) While my brothers-in-law did not work with a fertility center in Oregon, it makes me proud to know that Oregon is a state that has been at the forefront of ensuring families can grow through surrogacy. To understand exactly why Oregon is a top destination for would-be parents seeking the help of surrogates and how it got there, check out the article on page 12. So even though my kids don’t get to see their cousins this year, we’re still going to TREVOR PARKER make the holidays special. I love the ideas Cousins 2018 Judiaann Woo came up with for helping families make memories and capture holiday magic safely during the pandemic on page 28. The best part? Several options are low or no cost. And if you need gift ideas for your kids, writer Joanna Close talked to local toy-store owners about their favorite toys for the holidays. We’ve got recommendations for babies up to tweens that include budget-savvy picks and splurges, starting on page 22. You know, my kids have really surprised me with their resilience this year. Even with muttering about stupid coronavirus now and then, they have been troupers and can still find the joy in things like a new bunch of bananas from the grocery store or outdoor scooter playdates with friends or popcorn movie nights at home. I know I don’t have to explain to other parents how hard this year has been. But as we close the door on 2020, I’m on the verge of optimism that their resilience (and hopefully your kids’ resilience) will be less tested in 2021.
On our cover: Sibling love, happy mom and dad, and rows and rows of fir trees — it doesn’t get much better than that. Photographer Megan
Norman of The Beatific Lens captured this moment of pure joy as the White family romped through the Northern Lights Christmas Tree Farm in Pleasant Hill, Oregon. Norman, mama to a 3-year-old boy with a little girl on the way, has a moody, fairy-tale-like photography style with an emphasis on bright, bold colors. And she loves catching those natural emotions and reactions between family members having fun. See more of her work at thebeatificlens.com or on Instagram @thebeatificlens. 6
November / December 2020
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pdxparent.com
What nonprofits does your family like to support?
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Our go-tos are
Oregon Food Bank and
The Children’s Book Bank. I donate used clothing
and toys to Insight and Northwest Children’s Outreach. Northwest Children’s Outreach is great to bring the girls to. Easy tasks for them to do.
We’ve made meals for families at the Lilac Meadows and Laurelwood shelters.
Since we know folks impacted by the fires, this year we’re donating to the Echo Mountain Fire relief efforts.
Oregon Food Bank.
Community Warehouse and PAWS.
I’m a big fan of Portland Food Project.
”
