She then told me that she was in the Pentagon on the top floor of the outer ring of the building and missed getting killed by about 40 feet.

A year or so ago, I received an email from a male adoptee in his thirties named Doug Dittbenner. He told me a bit about his reunion story. I can't recall if he asked about publishing his story at Adoption Week e-magazine or I suggested it. However, he did decide to write a story about his reunion.

This is the moving article that he wrote. He nearly missed meeting his birth mother, and is grateful that he did not. Their reunion is doing well.

A week or two ago, I heard from Doug again. He had just been to Washington, D.C. for his birth mother Irene's retirement celebration after 30 years in the military. Doug also shared that he went to the Pentagon and saw where her office was and where she was on Sept 11th. Seeing where she was, and knowing how close she came to perishing must have been quite a moment for Doug.

When people share their stories with me, I really enjoy hearing from them, and getting updates. I think it is so positive to know that Doug was able to celebrate his birth mother's retirement with her.

Some adoptees, like my co-blogger, Karen, do find graves at the end of their searches. Adoptees sometimes miss meeting a birth parents by only months or even days occasionally.

Doug realizes that that he nearly missed out on meeting his birth mother. It makes you think that their reunion was meant to be. A year or two into reunion, I had a brief but serious medical issue that required that I be hospitalized for a weekend. Although I recovered quickly, when I entered the hospital I was in serious condition and had things gone differently, I might not have survived. I thought about that a lot as I laid there in that hospital bed. We could have missed reconnecting. I guess both Doug's reunion and mine were meant to happen!