Any Adopted People Reunited with their Birth Family? - This is my Story
@EnglishTeaDuck (862)
United States
August 30, 2009 1:16pm CST
Is anyone else out there adopted? Have you searched for your birth family? Have you even got to meet them? Would you want to? Why or why not?
I was adopted at birth, close enough, and I had a great adoptive family but I always thought about it and always wondered, since I was little. I wondered who I looked like - my adoptive family were all maths and science types, whereas I write and draw and sing and act! From an early age I looked for my papers and info at home and found them at about 10 or 11yearsold, so from them I knew my original name and my parents names.
Over the years, many times I would start the search, and often I would either come to a dead end or I would back off so as not to upset my adoptive mother. That went on all my life really, and at the age of 30 I got married and moved from England to America.
Over the years I had put out messages on various websites, adoption sites, missing person sites, local papers etc. and had no response. Every so often I would go back and check, not really expecting anything. Then one night, I was online doing this at about 2am, and there was a message in reply - 'We have been looking for you for a long time, your two brothers and myself, your birth mother'. It gave the names, which I hadn't posted, just my name, because I needed to be able to check people were genuine.I sat and stared at the screen literally for about an hour, crying.
I sent a message back and it went back and forth a few times while both sides asked questions to see we were who we saidwe were.
To cut a long story short, it turned out my mother had me on her 21st birthday, so we have the same birthday. I had always remembered her on my birthday each year (I figured you had to remember giving birth even if she didn't think of me any other time!) and I and my best friend had been down to the beach in the town where I was born on my birthday and chucked flowers in the sea as a little act of remembering.
So after we made contact, we finally met on that beach, on our birthdays. She'd bought me a ton of presents, like she had to make up for the ones she didn't get.
I also met my brother, who has a son and daughter so I have a little niece and nephew.
Not everyone has a good experience, and there have been hard times along the way, knowing how to relate to complete strangers who are close family, but it made sense of me - my brother is a film director, my dad is an artist, my Grandmother taught dance! My niece and nephew have accepted me as their Aunt. So for me, it was a pretty good experience, and I will be seeing them next week when I go to England!
Does anyone else have experience or comments?
3 people like this
4 responses
@babyangie27 (5176)
• United States
31 Aug 09
I was adopted by my great grand parents on my mother's side so I always knew my real mom. I found out when I was 8. I knew my blood sister and my 2 had sisters and half brother. My real mom married their dad. My birth dad left my mom older sister and myself. He did come and met me before signing over rights for the adoption. About a year ago on Myspace this girl asked to be my friend and in the subject it said "Hi I am your sister". My birth dad had married shortly after I was born and had 2 boys and 2 girls. I speak to three of them all the time online and off but have never spoken to my one brother or my birth father. He left their mom and is dating a 23 year old,he is in his 50's I believe. My birth mom used to tell me not to tell my friends she was my mom,so we are not close. I want to met my birth dad but sometimes I don't. My older blood sister did and she said he is a jerk,and his own kids(my half siblings) have said the same. Congrats on a good reunion.
@EnglishTeaDuck (862)
• United States
31 Aug 09
Hi thanks for commenting and sharing your story,.
I know what you mean about wanting to meet your birth Dad, but sometimes not. I have not met my father yet, though I know he is an artist, and that he married again after my mother. He lives in Greece. Apparently I have a half sister, his daughter, somewhere too.
My mother does not have good things to say about him, and I doubt if she let him know they had found me. I got on well with my brother, we are very alike, and I wanted to wait and see what his relationship was with his Dad before I made contact myself.
So, I do want to - but then I don't. I am an artistic person so the fact that we have that in common sort of fascinates me, but I think I needed to deal with my mother first and then give it some time!
I hope you can be at peace with all of yours however it turns out for you x
1 person likes this
@babyangie27 (5176)
• United States
31 Aug 09
Wow Greece sounds so wonderful. I am at peace and my one brother and I am very mcuh alike as well. It is nice to not feel so much like an outsider anymore. Many from my mother's side have always treated me differently. I do hope you do get to meet with you dad,if nothing else to see what he is like. I am still debating on it but I will probably one day go see him.
@bunnybon7 (50973)
• Holiday, Florida
22 Oct 09
what a wonderful story i used to wonder if i was adopted as my mom really kind of hated me i think. found out from all my aunts tho that i wasnt. i had one aunt that did adopt out her girl at birth. my cousin (same aunts son) and i have searched for her for years as we would like for her to know what a wonderful person she really is. she cries still after 55yrs at the girls birthday. my aunts now 75yrs and we've pretty much given up the search she was afraid to search anyway as shes always had such a bad time in life that shes sure the girl would hate her.
@maximax8 (31046)
• United Kingdom
11 Oct 09
The story of your adoption is very interesting. You made such an very determined effort to find your birth mother. It is excellent that you eventually found her and we were able to meet her plus your brother. It must have been lovely to meet your birth family members. Your birth mother gave you to a loving adoptive family so that was fantastic. Even though you moved countries you are still able to visit your birth family. I am so very pleased for you.
One of my friends knows that he has a half sibling that was adopted and he hasn't ever met her. His dad got a French lady pregnant and she moved back to France with the baby. His mum got pregnant and adopted her baby girl. He searched for his half sister that was adopted. He knows she lives in the county that I used to live in.
@LetranKnight25 (33121)
• Philippines
10 Oct 09
hello,
that really tears me up, you're one of the lucky people that got a chance to reunite with your family again. i don't have that experience since i already have my family right here and so far it hasn't been that hard because the never away but i missed them since they don't live here anymore