CW: Family Building, TTC, IVF, Loss, Grief, Support, Find Your People! On October 6 Sunder and I will be walking the 2024 Footsteps for Family Building walk for AllPaths Family Building. Please help us support this organization that has been an invaluable community of support and resources for us over the last year and onward. This non-profit offers over 20 free virtual support groups specializing in specific areas of treatments and challenges people face with family building. They also work tirelessly to advocate for legislation that supports family building rights, as well as opposing legislation that threatens those rights. This summer AllPaths helped support the passing of the MA Parentage Act. Please help them to continue doing the important work they do. I also recommend their sites if you are looking to learn more about family building challenges and rights, advocacy and how you can get involved, how to support your friends and family facing these challenges, or resources for your own journey.
Building a family looks very different for many of us. Sunder and I have been on a long, bumpy road as we put our all into expanding ours. The highs and lows of this journey have been made more bearable by building an incredible support network of a wonderful partner, our loving families, close friends, friends who have faced similar challenges, and more. Last year I found an organization that provides free virtual support groups and resources called AllPaths Family Building. Every two weeks I was able to join in community with others who understood the rollercoaster we’ve been on, particularly the challenges of IVF. Having this space to laugh, cry, share, and learn has been so helpful. People in my group pointed me in the direction of better counseling by someone who specializes in the issues I’m facing. I’m walking in honor of Ingram, the baby we never got to meet, and continuing to take steps forward through that grief and towards whatever is next on our path. Our journey continues and I’m blessed to do it surrounded by love and support! I’m also sharing so if anyone I know is out there silently suffering, you know I’m here for you!