Thank You

Normally, it is customary to give people gifts for big occasions. With surrogacy, every step of the process is a big occasion. As such, B and I try to celebrate each baby step (see what I did there?). With our next big portion of the process nearing completion, B and I have begun to work on our next awesome gift for our awesome surro. The gifts themselves aren't hard to find, it's the card that goes with them.
As I browsed through the thank you card section today at Target, I felt overwhelmed. I also realized I grabbed a basket to get one card, so I felt stupid too, but mainly overwhelmed. How do you say thank you for something like this? The bottom line is, there are not enough cards, presents, or anything really that could express what we feel. Now, don't get me wrong, there are several lovely, and kind, thank you cards out there, but they really don't sum up how you truly feel. There aren't cards that say "thanks for your uterus," or "thanks for being my baby oven," or even "no baby mama drama thanks to you." Surrogacy is a very unique experience, and it's a different kind of relationship is formed. I could settle for the cards that say, "no words could ever express" or the one that I saw today that said "I owe you big time."
Really though, that's still not it. Yes, there are not words, and yes, we do owe our surrogate big time, but it's much more then that. The bottom line is, I, in a million years, cannot, will not, be able to repay this kindness. I will not be able to say thank you properly. I will not be able to come to the understanding of why our surrogate is doing this. I cannot wrap my mind around it, we are still in such awe, that we are speechless, both on paper and verbal. There are nice blank thank you cards, but their covers don't match well with what we want to convey. They either have elegant writing, or feathers, or bright glittery letters, or something else. That doesn't seem to fit, childbirth is not elegant, feathers are weird, this isn't new years eve, so glitter really doesn't work either. Today, I settled on flowers (new life, growing, etc...) The card says "thank you for the beautiful thing you chose to do." This is about as close as it gets for Hallmark, and really, she did chose to do it, and it is a beautiful thing. Although the card doesn't quite summarize the magnitude of the sacrifice our surrogate is making, it acknowledges her choice in the matter.
In closing, there will never be words, or cards, or gifts to express our thanks to each and every person who has supported us, and continues to support us. What our surrogate has offered to do, is nothing short of a miracle, and that my friends, is something that you can never repay.