July – Expanding: Exploring Our Unique Identities
As we all learn more about our history and what freedom really means, July 4th gives us much to contemplate. Who is really free and when? Freedom related to adoption and exploring the truth of who we are as individuals and families is foundational and important. Read more about why Frederick Douglass and his speech "What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?" in this month's Black Excellence post. And learn how our 2025 Family Camp celebrates culture and read more
June Father’s Day: Family Titles, Roles, and Relationships
Officially celebrating Father’s Day came a bit later than Mother’s Day and there are many of the same things to think about and reflect on as we come to this day that is all about acknowledging the fathers and father figures in our lives. In adoption father’s of origin or birth/first fathers are often thought of after mothers. Sometimes there can be even less information about fathers and it can be harder to open up a conversation about the role read more
Mother’s Day: Family Titles, Roles, and Relationships
As a country we have been celebrating Mother’s Day since the 19th century, honoring women who play a pivotal role in the lives of children of any age. For some, Mother’s Day can bring feelings of both celebration and complexity. In adoption, mothers of origin or birth/first mothers play a vital role in the lives of children they are born to and separated from. It’s important that you have open and loving conversations about different ways mothers and mother figures read more
April Exploring: What’s in a Name?
Our names are central and significant to who you are and, in essence, can be the keystone of identity. When your child is adopted, there’s another world, another narrative, and perhaps another name that accompanies them along their identity journey. The way in which we build a strong and healthy identity often begins with our names as one of our central and original “keystone” building blocks. June-in-April Calendar Conversation Cards TRJ invites your family to experience the calendar in a read more
Preparing: Adoption Microaggressions… Lucky Me?
Being Prepared as a Transracial Family Have you had strangers ask inappropriate questions of you and your family? “Is she/he/them yours?” “Where are they from?” “Your child is SO lucky”. These invasive questions are part of being a family that does not match and where differences of race are obvious to the world around you. It is important to be prepared for these intrusions. March Pro-Tip to Foster Conversations About Transracial Adoptions At TRJ we send our families conversation cues read more
February. Transforming: Bring a Higher Love
At the intersection of St. Valentine’s Day and Black History Month, this short month brings so many foundational elements of identity, relationships, and differences for families to explore. Love is a vital ingredient for all families but adoption and difference of race make it imperative the love moves beyond the transactional and into the transformational. February Pro-Tip to Foster Conversations About Transracial Adoptions Transracial Journeys invites your family to experience the calendar in a whole new way. With the help read more
January Embracing: Live with Authenticity, Purpose and Joy
January is a time when folks traditionally take stock of where they are and may even make some resolutions for a new diet, more time exercising, or commitments to spending quality time with family and friends. For families that extend through transracial adoption, January can offer a time to think about the year ahead and together as a family, continue the expansive journey of authentically navigating family and differences together with purpose and joy. Related article for parents' reflection: January: Honoring read more
December – Reflections: Evolving Traditions
The December holidays give us an opportunity to think about traditions tied to different cultures and religions. Regardless of what you and your family honor and celebrate, we can be inspired to take a closer look at what traditions mean to us and how we can expand our thinking and actions. Read this month's reflection and link to book gift giving guide as well as previous December posts from over the years to help guide you and your family through read more
November Nourishment: Sustaining Strong and Healthy Families
Thanksgiving can be one of the more complicated historical holidays, and for many in the United States, one of the more family and food-centric holidays. Whether you are a family that chooses not to mark Thanksgiving in a traditional way, or your family goes all out with a big Thanksgiving celebration, this month we are thinking about the family table and what might be true when there are differences of race and culture with transracial adoption. November also brings National read more
Revealing: What’s Under The Mask
Whether you participate in Halloween or not, October 31st has many children and the young at heart dressing up in costumes and wearing masks. Today, the pandemic has given many of us cause to wear masks to protect ourselves from the COVID-19. But what is behind the masks you don’t see? What do they reveal? Read how masks and mental health can have unique significance in our community in our article "Masks, Masking, and Mental Health." Fostering Conversations About Transracial read more