So Nice To Connect

[Robin Powell]

Hi!  Very sorry for the delay, it's ... been a rough month.

Here's the most recent picture of everybody I could find; it's from
September 2022:

[image: 2022-09-21_20-44-01--photo_190 at 21-09-2022_20-44-01.jpg]

Top left is me, bottom left is Ruth Anne, my partner and the woman who gave
birth to the twins.  Middle is RJ, Ruth Anne's other partner; the twins
have grown up with all three of us in the house.  I also have another
partner not shown here who the kids refer to as Aunty Jen.  Next is Frances
and then Kai on the right.

Here's Kai last month doing some crafting:
[image: PXL_20250726_191443822.MP_trimmed.jpg]

And dressed up as a vampire for a school thing:
[image: photo_2025-07-17_09-42-49.jpg]

Kai does a lot of costume work; it's a big interest of theirs.  Kai has
pretty significant ADHD and also probably some autism, and in general loves
to infodump about whatever their current interests are.  Kai has had some
past struggles with depression but that's doing OK, and a lot of struggles
with school which we continue to work on.

Kai is trans and nonbinary and very serious about their queer identity;
they went nonbinary and picked the name Kai uh I wanna say about 5 years
ago?  They've been rolling with the they/them pronouns since then although
lately there's been some he/him as well.

Here's Frances with her new puppy:

[image: PXL_20250709_191257658.jpg]

Frances is in most respects a very typical teenage girl, certainly much
more so than Kai.  She generally does well in school, although she thinks
most of her teachers are asshats and maybe isn't as shy as she should be
about letting them know that.  Her main hobby is horseback riding, and she
has a steady boyfriend.  She's had struggles with depression and anxiety
that have been a lot harder to shake than Kai's were, but we're working on
it.

Oh, they're both 13, turning 14 in October, and going into 8th grade just
now.

We also have a bearded dragon named Waffles, the dog Barbie you can see
above (who is specifically Frances's), and a ball python named Hashbrowns.
Our other ball python, Yogurt, was Kai's specifically and when he died a
couple of weeks ago it was really hard on us, me and Kai in particular.

I think that's a decent summary so I'll leave it at that for now, and I'll
try to respond better going forward.



On Tue, Jul 22, 2025 at 9:23 AM Kaylen Peterson <kaylenmp1 at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hello,
>
>
>     Thank you again for being open to connecting, it really means a lot to
> me. It’s kind of surreal in the best way to be in touch.
>
>
>     I donated a total of 5 times, so to know that there could possibly be
> more children out there that share DNA with me is a very unique experience
> to think about.
>
>
>     If you’re comfortable sharing photos, I’d truly love to see them. If
> it’s okay with you, I’d love to show them to my kids too. They know about
> your girls and have been so curious and excited. They have asked me every
> day if I’ve heard anything back yet from my initial message to you.
>
>
>     I have two boys, 11 and 16. My younger one is the wild, sweet,
> energetic type, total sour patch kid, and my older one is thoughtful,
> extremely intuitive and researches everything, and wise beyond his years,
> they both think it’s really cool and special that this connection is
> happening.
>
>
>     I totally understand life is busy (same here, work, kids, and helping
> care for my dad {who had a heart attack and stroke in January} keeps me
> running nonstop), so there’s no pressure at all. I’m just really thankful
> we’ve opened the door.
>
>
>     Looking forward to hearing more about your family whenever you’re
> ready.
>
>
> Warmly,
>
> Kaylen
>
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