John
Jester
Gender:
Male
Status:
State:
Maryland
Religion:
None
Education:
Master’s Degree
Profession:
Communications Officer
Political Affiliation:
Lean Liberal
Margaret
Caregiver
Gender:
Female
Status:
State:
Maryland
Religion:
Spiritual
Education:
Master’s Degree
Profession:
Program Director
Political Affiliation:
Lean Liberal
Hello! Our names are John and Margaret and we live in Silver Spring, Maryland - a diverse suburb of Washington, DC with a lot of families representing white, Black, Latino, and Asian communities. We moved here after we got married in 2015 in the hopes of raising a family in a safe, quiet neighborhood with good schools. We are surrounded here by a variety of different backgrounds (our nearest neighbors are Honduran, Ethiopian, and Jewish) which creates the kind of multi-national and multi-lingual environment we hope our child will thrive in. We love our neighborhood and have worked to create a small sense of community with those who live around us. Since the day we got married, we have wanted to start a family. We have one dog - a rescue Beagle/Hound/Labrador mix named Leyla - whom we love and shower with affection (and treats). John is an External Affairs Officer at the World Bank, where he has worked since 2009. This is a fancy way of saying he works in communications. He enjoys this work, as it allows him to be creative with his writing abilities and exposes him to new cultures, languages, and people. In his free time, he loves to fly fish, play chess and guitar, read, and binge watch Adult Swim. Margaret is a project manager for an international agriculture development nonprofit and sometimes travels for her work. In her spare time, she enjoys baking cookies, hiking in the woods, reading novels, and playing with their dog. Both of us like to spend time with our friends and go vacations with our extended families. We strive to raise a child who has a strong sense of self and a feeling of belonging in our community. We aim to raise a child who is confident, kind, creative, and feels prepared and supported to go after her or his dreams. Our dream is to create a household that can lay the foundation for this future success by providing a space that is safe, relaxed, comfortable and full of laughter. John wants to teach our child to fly fish and Margaret looks forward to making waffles for breakfast on the weekends. We are happy to have an open adoption and share photos and information about our child as s/he grows up. Annual visits work for us, too. If our life matches your vision for your child’s upbringing, we would be so honored to be considered as adoptive parents. While we obviously don’t know the difficulty that you are experiencing right now, we are full of admiration and hope for you and your child’s future. We are grateful for your consideration of our family. Thank you so much for reading our letter!
John & Margaret
My favorite website is (...not your Facebook page :)):
chess.com - I love playing chess as it is a game that can never be truly 'solved' so I learn something new each and every time I log on!
-John
What scares you?
Being misunderstood by people I care about.
-Margaret
Three years from now, I hope our child’s birth mom is…
doing whatever she wants to do most with her time and energy - it is her life, after all.
-Margaret
My philosophy on parenting is...
we are ready to learn new things and try different approaches to figure out what works for our family.
-Margaret
If you had to live on an RV or sailboat for the rest of your life, which would it be?
Definitely a sailboat. I love being on the water.
-Margaret
When we argue, what’s it about?
The best way to cook Brussels sprouts.
-Margaret
The most special thing I own is...
An album of photographs from my grandmother's visit to Europe in the late 1930s.
-Margaret
If I could change one thing about the World, it would be...
economic inequality.
-Margaret
Dogs or cats?
Dogs. I like cats but love dogs.
-Margaret
Complete the sentence, “I can’t live without……”
My guitar - it helps with stress and gives me structure
-John
We are the best choice because…
We are a loving pair who want more than anything to share this love with a child.
-John
John at the New Orleans Aquarium
I hope our child’s birth mother is…
comfortable with us as future parents for her baby.
-Margaret
My favorite Instagram account is:
the Transportation Security Administration. It is really funny what some people try to take on airplanes.
-Margaret
If I could choose one type of food to eat for the rest of my life, it would be:
Can I say Asian food? That covers a continent from Turkey to Japan and nets me a lot of delicious options.
-Margaret
My best friend would describe me as...
caring, emotionally mature, and self-aware.
-Margaret
If I could have dinner with anyone—dead or alive—I would pick...
My great-grandfather, who was a miner. His curiousity lead to such an interesting career and life and his devotion to his family meant that he always provided love and care no matter how hard the circumstances were.
-John
Favorite season and why?
Fall because the weather is cooling off and our garden is still producing a few late tomatoes. Also I love pumpkin spice.
-Margaret
If you had to live on an RV or sailboat for the rest of your life, which would it be?
An RV - I prefer the mountains to the ocean and would drive the RV to parks and national monuments around the county in search of beauty and streams full of wild trout.
-John
In five years our relationship with our child’s birth mother will…
have established a rhythm that works for all of us.
-Margaret
What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you look at the night sky?
I have a memory growing up and looking at the night sky in my backyard. My parents bought me a telescope when I was about 12 and I will never forget seeing the rings of Saturn for the first time - it expanded my perspective on the universe!
-John
My favorite place in the World is...
The beach in Mexico where we went when I was a kid. Almost any beach, really.
-Margaret
I would never...
pretend to be someone I am not.
-Margaret
Do you consider yourself religious or spiritual?
I consider myself spiritual. I don't go to religious services regularly but believe in a higher power and have great respect for the religious traditions of the world.
-Margaret
We are the best choice because…
we are not perfect but we will do our best to raise a kid who will grow up to be honest, kind, and brave.
-Margaret
Do I have kids? How do they feel about a sibling?
N/A - no kids in our home yet.
-Margaret
My neighborhood is a good place to raise a family because…
There are lots of other families here from diverse backgrounds, good schools, parks with trees and playgrounds, and sidewalks to walk along.
-Margaret
Favorite season and why?
Fall - I love the crisp weather and beautiful colors of this season. There is a delicate balance between warm and cold and that transition into the colder weather is always so pleasant for me.
-John
What is the best word to describe our family?
Caring.
-John
My favorite place in the World is...
Georgia (the country) - I lived there for almost five years and learned so much about life. I have close friends and family there still and travel there when possible. I dream of a day when we can travel there with our child!
-John
If you had to pick a famous person to play you in a movie, who would it be?
Amelia Earhart because I want to pretend to fly an airplane and play a woman who defies expectations.
-Margaret
Complete the sentence, “I can’t live without……”
talking to my family and friends. They help keep me steady.
-Margaret
My neighborhood is a good place to raise a family because…
It is brimming with children and families from all over the world. Our neighborhood has a lot of lovely people and exciting places to explore.
-John
If I could have dinner with anyone—dead or alive—I would pick...
Joshua Yaffa, New Yorker correspondent formerly based in Moscow.
-Margaret
I'm super competitive when it comes to...
baking over the top cakes for baking competitions.
-Margaret
What is the best word to describe our family?
Warm.
-Margaret
What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you look at the night sky?
Humans are such a small part of the universe.
-Margaret