Choose A Family : Parent Profile
Mary and Melinda
We are Mary and Melinda from Sacramento, CA. Thank you for taking the time to look at our site and learn more about our desire to form a family through adoption.
Although we have some sense of what you might be going through, we recognize that only you can truly understand the complexity of options that you are considering for your upcoming birth. We have enormous respect for what you are going through, and we know you will make a thoughtful decision based on love. Our hearts are open to you, and we are looking forward to sharing with you whatever you would like to know as you consider us as potential parents.
We appreciate you taking the time to learn more about our family. We have a great deal to offer a child and are excited to begin the journey of parenthood!
About Us
We are a stable, happy couple with many shared values and interests. We became fast friends one night listening to blues music at a venue called "The Torch Club.” It wasn't long before we knew this was a match for all of time, and we later became legally Domestic Partners in California. Beyond our shared appreciation for R&B, we share common career fields (Mary is a professor of criminology and Melinda is an attorney) -- we both have a strong interest in social and political issues.
One of the qualities we love most about our relationship is that we can talk for hours about almost anything. We simply enjoy each other’s company. We have an equally great time at a Kings basketball game, a Tina Turner concert or the ballet. We take in as many movies as we can; we both love the rain and have an inordinately high appreciation for cozy pajamas. We also both have a love for great seats at a sporting event or the theatre. When the Monarchs Basketball team was in Sacramento, we had season tickets on the "wood." Although we are big planners, we also love to spontaneously take off for day trips to Napa Valley, San Francisco or Lake Tahoe.
It's possible that we understand each other so well, simply because we approach life in a similar way. We both have strong personalities which gives each of us great comfort in knowing that either one of us can "relax" when needed. One of us is always capable of taking care of business or negotiating on behalf of the family if the other one needs a break. This balance in our relationship makes life easier for both of us and will be a great strength when parenting together.
About Mary
I grew up in St. Louis, and value my Midwestern common sense. I have three
older brothers who all lead successful and happy lives. My parents are still
happily married after 59 years, which I find inspiring! My parents taught me the
value of education and hard work but also the importance of having a good time.
Life is short and the quality in life is about finding balance. Music was a big part
of my upbringing, and my iTunes is filled with every genre imaginable, old and
new. I have danced in one capacity or another since I was a little girl. As an
adult, I started partner dancing, and the Argentine tango has become a passion
of mine. I am fairly certain that I will dance until I can’t move anymore.
While I believe that life experience is the best teacher, I have spent quite a bit of time on my education. I have a Masters in Psychology, an MSW and a Ph.D. in Social Work and Social Research. I have always enjoyed an intuitive sense about human nature, and I pursued work that allows me to work closely with others. I am a tenured professor at California State University in Sacramento. Having
lifetime employment security is really nice, but there is nothing as great as
feeling truly fulfilled by your work. Working closely with my students is
what I love most about my career, and I was honored to win my college’s
Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award this year. Our home is ten minutes
from the university, and although I only go in to school once or twice a week for
half days, I suspect our child will be comfortable at the university before he or
she is in first grade.
The exciting thing about my teaching
schedule is that it allows me to be a stay-at-
home mom. For the short times when I
am teaching, we have selected the mother
of one of our closest friends, who is also a
nanny, to care for the baby in our home.
About Melinda
New Orleans is my birthplace, and although I have not lived there for many years, I still refer to it as my home. I appreciate the culture, music, food and my old friends, whom I try to visit as often as I can. I moved to California when I was 21 and have loved every minute of living here. Like New Orleans, California has great food, culture, music and people!
My parents have a home near the beach in Bodega Bay, California, and my sister, brother-law and two nieces live in Los Angeles. My mother is an artist, so we often find ourselves at various art openings in Northern California. Mary and I love to visit family, and we both equally love the ocean and the city.
I worked for FedEx for 16 years and ended my career there in senior management. I then went to practice as an attorney at a large law firm in Sacramento. Now I work as in-house counsel at a large family owned business. Like Mary, I have an office at home, which will give us flexibility when the new baby arrives.
For relaxation, I enjoy cooking and entertaining friends at our kitchen island. No matter if we have a small dinner party or a large gathering, our kitchen island seems to be a magnet for people to eat and laugh! I workout at the gym several times a week, and Mary and I practice yoga together. In the hot Sacramento summer, I also love to go swimming in our backyard pool. I love the water, and I never miss an opportunity to go sailing with friends in the San Francisco Bay.
Our Home
We live in a well established, family friendly neighborhood in Sacramento, California. We are close to our neighbors, many of whom have small children. Since California is known for its sun, there are often kids walking and playing outside. Our suburb has two of the best schools in Sacramento and a great park with a playground. We also live just blocks from the American River, which has a long hiking path and river access. This is one our favorite places to walk the dogs or go for a bike ride. Being near the water is very peaceful.
Sacramento has a great zoo, many wonderful parks and a lot of outdoor family friendly restaurants. We often go to the Sacramento Ballet, and once a month we attend the Sacramento Art Walk. This is a time when the city’s many art galleries stay open late, and families fill up the streets going in and out of restaurants and galleries enjoying each other and art from all over. Melinda’s mother’s art is usually showing in one of the local galleries.
Although we love the peace of our home, we both love San Francisco, which is only an hour away. San Francisco is the most wonderful city in the world – there is nothing that one would ever want that cannot be found there. Melinda loves to go sailing in the San Francisco Bay, and we often catch the new exhibits that come to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We are also extremely lucky that in only a little over an hour the other direction we can be in Lake Tahoe. We both ski and enjoy the snow and mountains and are grateful to have the best of both worlds - - Sun and snow!
We share our four bedroom home with our two sweet Labrador Retrievers, Ethyl and Miles. Ethyl and Miles have both been well trained by Mary, who is a gifted dog trainer. Labradors are famously well-behaved with kids, and our dogs are no exception. They are very gentle with kids and are more than willing to give up one room for a baby brother or sister.
All the best,
Mary and Melinda
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