Bonds strong between parents and daughter for Rimrod family

By Kelly Terpstra, kterpstra@charlescitypress.com

Chris Rimrod remembers the call like it was yesterday. The phone rang on a Wednesday.

Special moments can happen in mere seconds, but can be cherished for a lifetime.

In that instant, Chris and her husband, Dan, knew their child would be coming home.

November is National Adoption Month and last Saturday was National Adoption Day for thousands of parents across the nation. For many, their long wait for a son or daughter ended on that remarkable day.

Whether those adoptions were open, closed or facilitated through foster care, the happiness brought to families can be immeasurable.

“It was immediate — we were parents,” said Chris, executive assistant at the Charles City Press. “We were connected right from the start.”

For the Rimrods, that blessing came in the form of a newborn girl named Mya. Though Chris didn’t carry Mya for nine months during pregnancy, the love she felt for her new daughter was just as great as any biological parent could experience, she said.

“Mya grew in our heart. The very first day that we saw her was instant love,” she said.

Mya is now 12 years old and a sixth-grader at Immaculate Conception Catholic School in Charles City. She enjoys playing sports, just like her birth mother, Megan Hagen.

“Mya loves volleyball and softball. It’s fun to watch her,” said Hagen, who is a cardiac rehabilitation therapist/physician extender.

Hagen was 21 years old and just getting ready to go back to school for her junior year at the University of Northern Iowa when she found out she was pregnant. As other young women have done at that particular time in their lives, she made a difficult decision.

“I think it was just more of knowing I wouldn’t be able to give her the life I wanted her to have,” said Hagen. “With the support of my family, they kind of helped me make that decision.”

Chris understood that Megan wasn’t ready for the responsibility of caring for and raising a child while she was also studying for a degree at UNI.

“What I really want people to know is even though they get pregnant — whether they’re in high school, college, in their 20s — if it’s not the right time in their life, that’s OK,” said Chris. “A great mom is somebody that loves their child so much that they want the best for them, realizing that at that time in their life is not a good time to have a child.”

What makes the Rimrod’s adoption success story extraordinary is the close relationship that each parent and family member has with one another in the open adoption.

“Our story is little more unique because I never got to meet Chris or Dan before Mya was born,” said Megan. “She came a little faster than expected. The first time I actually met them was at the hospital after Mya was born.”

It didn’t take long for a bond to form between Megan, Mya and the Rimrods. Hagen lives four hours away in Cambridge, Minnesota, but that doesn’t stop her from attending some of Mya’s athletic contests or school activities. Megan and her family, along with the Rimrods, also get together during the holidays.

“It just kind of continued to grow after that first year. I don’t think we knew it was going to grow like that but it’s awesome that it did,” said Hagen, who was recently married.

The process to adopt took about seventh months after Chris and Dan, who is the Charles City Wastewater Department superintendent, contacted the Avalon Center, an adoption agency in Mason City.

The waiting game began after the Rimrods filled out tons of paperwork, did home studies, went through background checks and submitted photos along with describing who they were.

Megan made the ultimate choice in deciding who would become the parents of her newborn child.

“She picked us,” said Chris.

Chris and Dan — who have been married for 19 years — tried to adopt a second child but did not have a family that chose them.

“We wanted another relationship like this,” said Chris.

Instead, the Rimrods have been hosting foreign-exchange students the past couple of years. Their host student this year is Natalie Abel, who hails from Germany.

“This was our way of adopting again,” said Chris. “It’s working really well for us and Mya loves having a sibling around. It gives us that second child fulfillment,”

Before Megan chose the family who would become Mya’s parents, she wasn’t even aware that open adoption was an option. Now Chris and Megan exchange texts regularly and both families attended the wedding of Megan’s sister in Iowa this past weekend.

“I would just say that, honestly, I got extremely lucky with Chris and Dan. Sometimes it doesn’t work out like that,” said Megan. “We’ve gotten along really well. They have just become a part of our family.”

Chris and Dan couldn’t be happier about how Mya and Megan’s relationship has blossomed, not to mention that their own connection with Mya’s birth mom remains strong.

“We just continued that relationship. It just kept building. I love the idea of sharing this mother time — letting Megan still enjoy every little part of Mya,” said Chris.

Adoption cases like Mya’s can be few and far between. But Chris would still like other families out there to have the chance to have open communication and frequent visits like her daughter Mya experiences with her birth mom.

“I think what me and Megan would like to see, is we would like to see more of it. We don’t hear of very many,” said Chris.

As the years go by and the Christmas presents keep piling up, Megan said she is thankful that Mya has found a happy home where the future is bright.

“I know her and Dan love Mya more than anything. Chris didn’t carry her, but loves just as her own child,” said Megan. “They are awesome parents.”