In this reunion, like many others, there are some typical aspects and some less usual ones as well. The adoptee was never told that she was adopted, although she suspected that she was. She asked her parents if she was adopted many times, but was always told that she was not. The reason that she believed that she had been adopted was that she looked nothing like her parents.

A friend had helped arrange the adoption, and lived next door to the birth mother. As it turns out, the adoptee went with her adoptive mother to visit the friend once and she played... more

The article goes on to explain that what the natural mother didn’t know is that her children were the last people she needed to protect herself from and that they wouldn’t have cared a bit about the mistakes she had made. They feel that they wouldn’t have judged her and they would have understood but sadly the past that she was so worried about protecting was buried with her the day she died.

The author of the article chose to search because it was her son who had been born with a life threatening heart condition. Otherwise, she may have... more

I wonder about some of the outraged adoptive parents who sound so appalled that anyone would question their "right" to adopt no matter what their age, financial situation or anything else.

Is everyone entitled to adopt with no regard to any other requirements? Some seem certain that the standards for a woman parenting the child that she bears should be high - yet seemingly feel that standards for adoptive parents should be more lax. Why exactly is China trying to tighten up their adoption practices?

I am not talking about whether all their... more

An article at NorthJersey.com, titled A Birth Mother’s Priceless gift to an Adoptee on December 27 2006 piqued my interest.

I was attracted to the article because the freelance writer of the article, Carol Barbieri, is an adoptee who also found a grave at the end of her search. The difference between her story and my own personal story is that I was 15 months too late, she was 10 years too late. The writers natural mother... more

This child of mine, this sweet brilliant child of mine says to me, “but you're an adult, why can’t you know now?”

A 5-year old can grasp the idea that an adult should have the right to know what hospital they were born in. However, many adults apparently cannot. The quote above is from a blog post in my friend Wraith's December 29 blog post entitled "Hospitals."

My good friend Wraith has spent a great deal of time, effort and energy the last few years searching for... more

China's adoption practices and possible changes are discussed in this article. I have been hearing a great deal about this subject including lots of anger and outrage. Mainly it seems because people are disturbed that less children may be adopted due to more restrictive policies.

I can understand that the thought of children remaining in orphanages in China when they could instead be adopted is upsetting to people. The reality... more

Massachusetts SB 2690 (formerly SB 959) passed the legislature on December 26, 2006 and is awaiting the Governors signature.

The original bill in Massachusetts (SB 959) would have restored the right of unrestricted access to the original birth certificate to all Massachusetts adoptees. However, the amended bill (SB 2690) has been amended to favor some. The current version of the bill once effective if signed by the governor will allow those adopted persons 18 years of age or older born in Massachusetts on or before July 17, 1974 or on... more

The week between Christmas and New Years has become one of my favorite times of the year. It is a perfect time to reflect on the past and see what has been learned about ourselves and our lives. It is also a perfect time to look into the New Year and to consider hopes, dreams, desires and how you want to continue on in your life. I personally like to spend some time thinking about four things and I will share those with you.

The first is I like to think about and acknowledge my accomplishments that I feel have experienced in the past year.... more

This week I want to begin the new year with as many reunion stories as I can. Reunions are new beginnings. Beginning next week, I will aim for at least one reunion story each Monday in the coming year. Here is a story written by Marney Rich Keenan about reunions and how they fill in the void.

People have differing opinions on what reunions can provide. Some of the most ardent critics of reunion have no experience with them whatsoever, but have such negative... more

Although it may sound like a trivial happening, I am tickled pink that I begin the new year with my computer back in operation. Our home computer crashed nearly a month ago, and we just got it back two days ago. For the past couple of weeks, I have been making do with other computers that have made life trying. I am thrilled to have my own familiar computer back in operation.

What will the new year bring for you in your adoption journey? A new search or a brand new reunion? Are you wondering if someday your child may want to take on a search?... more