The best illustration of our leisure time is depicted in our typical Saturday. Our youngest pup, Hazel, is usually first to wake. She moseys her way to Zack's side of the bed and springs up on her hind legs planting her front paws playfully on the bed. From there, Zack wakes with Hazel, sauntering down the stairs as Nik and the other pups get a few more moments of sleep. After coffee is made, Hazel explores the backyard, sniffing every landmark while Zack tends to vegetable and herb garden. Once done outside, Zack will read on the couch- either a novel or an article from one of his favorite periodicals. Once the others begin stirring, Nik will make his way down the stairs, with a backyard workout on the brain. He'll kiss Zack on the forehead as he passes him- Zack still balled up on the couch, attending to his reading. Once done, we'll make breakfast together- something simple like eggs, perhaps paired with some sourdough that Zack baked the day before. Over breakfast, we'll go over our plans for the day. Maybe we'll spend a few hours planning for an upcoming trip- somewhere exciting with lots of landmarks and landscapes to explore. Living along the Florida coast, maybe we'll spend a day on the beach with friends or take the kayaks out on the bayou. Perhaps we'll take the pups on a walk, meandering through historic neighborhoods in our seaside town. Whatever the plan for the day, it usually culminates with the main event- an elaborate dinner at home either for two or with friends. We'll brave a new recipe, almost certainly to be paired with a glass of wine, thought-provoking conversation, and belly-aching laughter. While mundane to some, we find so much joy in these moments.

We have both had dogs in our lives as long as we can remember. We both grew up with one or multiple four-legged family members; so naturally, as we started our own lives as adults, a dog was always going to be part of the equation. In fact, both of us came to our relationship with a dog in tow- Nik with a charming corgi-mix named Theo and Zack with a sweet and unassuming hound-mix, named Parker. As we built our life together, we decided to add another rescue to the pack, welcoming our curious and enigmatic pandemic puppy, Hazel-Anne. These three supply so much personality into our daily lives- it's Parker's compulsive need for her blanket to be in just the right spot, Theo's obsession with visits to grandma's, and Hazel's insistence for one-on-one time with daddy early on Saturday mornings. Needless to say, these pups are family through and through and they have us wrapped around their paws. We both feel strongly that pets will always be part of our family and will add so much flavor to the life of our future child.

We both are strong advocates for social equity and racial justice. This, in part, has been shaped by our lived experience. We both hail from uniquely diverse families- Nik's being comprised of members of Puerto Rican, German, and Thai descent and Zack coming from a predominantly Scotch-Irish family enhanced by beloved Black and Jewish members. We are also so fortunate to live with diversity in our daily lives, whether that's in the way of our unique cast of friends and chosen family or in the vibrant community in which we live. While we see these truths to be incredible assets, we also understand that we are inherently limited by our own experiences, which can often create blind spots rooted in privilege. Because of this, we know that we always will have work to do to ensure that we are meeting every encounter with an open-mind and an open heart filled with empathy and understanding. Furthermore, if we were so blessed to parent a child of another race or ethnic background, we would be sure to explore and respectfully celebrate our child's diversity. We would also ensure that they are given the opportunity to find inclusion and belonging in their daily lives; interacting with and experiencing people that look like them and are of a similar cultural background. Given the composition of our current networks- families, friends, and community- we feel that we are well-suited to address any such challenge.

Our home rests in a historic seaside town along the Florida gulf coast. Its beauty is almost magical. The climate is inviting, the seas are an emerald green, and the trees in winter are decorated with ornaments of citrus. This magical landscape is further enchanted by Spanish place names- Zaragosa, Tarragona, Intendencia- and a varied mix of culture that makes it uniquely itself. This all lays the foundation for festive traditions, celebrations of its rich culture and beauty- Mardi Gras, monthly street fairs and a weekly farmer's market showcasing the best produce in all the land. Within this space, our home is tucked away along an old street in walking distance to the bay and the historic city center and just a short drive to white sandy beaches. Like our town, our neighborhood is equally rich in history- a living monument to the contributions of our town's Black and creole communities. It's dotted with historic landmarks and homes, famed churches, locally-owned eateries, a small organic grocery store, and galleries that showcase homegrown artists. This landscape is further enhanced by its proximity to the town's waterfront, which hosts a large park with a baseball stadium and playscapes for all ages to enjoy.

Our home, itself, is a 3 bedroom/2.5 bath, two-story home. While a new construction, it's designed to compliment the historic cottages and bungalows that surround it. The narrow lot is decorated by flowering shrubs that show-off come spring time. Our backyard hosts a small patio abutted by raised bed gardens, a garden shed, and plenty of open greenspace for our dogs and future children to play. Inside our home, we have an open concept first floor, with a large showcase kitchen (our favorite room in the house) highlighted by ample natural light. Upstairs, there are three bedrooms- a main bedroom, one used for an office, and another room for our future child.

We consider ourselves fortunate to come from an extremely diverse, fiercely loyal, and supportive family. Nik's mother, father, and paternal grandmother live in a neighboring town, the same one that the military brought them to over 20 years ago after years of placements in Turkey, Japan, and California. Nik has one half-brother of Thai descent, who was adopted by his father at a young age. He lives in Arizona with his partner and their three children. His mother comes from a large military family. He has an Oma (maternal grandmother) in South Carolina and aunts, uncles, and cousins all across the U.S.

Nearly all of Zack's family resides in the Atlanta metro. His family consists of Scotch-Irish, Jewish, and Black members, including his father and his girlfriend, his mother and her husband, his brother and his partner, and his half-sister. We both highly value family- seeing local family regularly for dinners, game nights, and events and making time to see family in Atlanta and elsewhere during holidays and other occasions.

If you're reading this, our paths have crossed if even just for this small moment. A moment of either passing or monumental significance, who can yet say? What we know is that we both have journeyed to this moment and now are here, tethered in time by this letter from us to you. How has your journey been? What path has led you here? Maybe it's been a challenging one, we know ours has. And while it likely has been an altogether different path, we now share in this meeting.

For us, we've arrived here at this point because we want nothing more than to be dads- to offer a child a safe haven, a budding ground of opportunity that allows them the space and fighting chance to explore, to experience, to observe, to soak up every drop of life that their soul can live. We want that for them because we haven't always that for ourselves. Despite hard times and formidable challenges, we've built such a beautiful life together. Five years has all but flown by. We laugh ourselves into stitches, we make memories out of the mundane, we seek knowledge and adventure, we aren't afraid to dream, we offer each other a lending ear and an understanding heart. We literally cherish every millisecond spent together, as well as time shared with our loving family, our lively pups, and incredible friends. All that is missing is a little one to share it all with. Nature has not been so kind in this regard, however. We both are completely oriented, almost intentionally designed for parenthood. Yet, we also are oriented to love in a manner that makes parenthood a biological impossibility, something that we've grappled with throughout our adult lives.

What if nature is less cruel than clever, however. Perhaps we've been made for this very moment, maybe even for this exact exchange. If that is true, if you are to be the mother of our child, we owe a great a deal to you. Principally, we owe you some assurances. Chief among those is to promise to always treat you with unwavering respect, dignity, and humanity. We promise to honor you in our home, as such an instrumental part of our, and our child's, story. We promise to share as much of your story and your family's story as you'd like us to and we, in return, will share as many pictures, videos, and other life updates with you in whatever frequency you wish. Even beyond all of this, regardless of your desired involvement, whatever may come, you will always be this child's mother. As two fathers there is nothing we could or would ever do to take that status away from you.

We also have some assurances to make to the precious baby that now grows within you. We promise to see and celebrate their beauty, to encourage them to live in that beauty and to see it for themselves. We promise that love will always be ample, curiosity will always be encouraged, and that we'll do everything in our power to make life for them more dancing that wrestling, more laughter than tears, more opportunity than struggle. We promise to be a guiding star in the constellation of their life. We promise to celebrate and explore their story and culture, alongside our very own. We promise to always know, never forsake, and relish in the overwhelming privilege that it will be to be their dads- to love them as their authentic selves, exactly as they are.

It's incredible and mysterious how people, places, even chance encounters, thread together to create a fabric of your life. If our threads cross today, if we become part of that fabric, we have no doubt that we would give your baby an incredible life and you the comfort of knowing as much. While we don't yet know how this journey will end, we are all so fortunate to take part in it. Thank you for taking the time to share in this moment with us. Whatever your choice, we genuinely wish you the best of luck on your journey!

With all of our love and best wishes,

Nik & Zack