When I was still living in the la-la land of the uninformed and unenlightened about adoption, I figured that if an adoptee searched, it would probably be soon after they turned 18-21 years old. Actually, I did not even realize that many adoptees or birth parents searched at all.

Now that I am more educated about the subject, I understand that the majority of searchers are not 18-21 years of age. Few adoptees search at that age. Not too many young people are ready to search at that age, although many adoptees at that age are eager for reunion if they are found.

The average age for a searcher, however, is 29 years old. However, what many people may not know is that many adoptees search much later in life. The “need to know” apparently does not wither away and die generally. Some believe that the need only intensifies with the passage of time.

I know several people who decided to search at age 50 or later. Only a day or so ago, I received an email from an someone who had a friend in her mid-50’s who is seriously ill and wants to find birth family. The need to know is not an insignificant and fleeting whim generally that simply goes away. It is a powerful need.

Some searchers wait to search when they are in their 60’s or 70’s. A few years ago I spoke to a birth mom in her 70’s who wanted to find her son. “It may seem silly,” she said, “it has been such a long time. But, I still wonder how he is.” I reassured her that it did not sound silly to me at all.

If searching were merely an fleeting, impetuous and brief urge of a young person, I suppose I could dismiss the significance of the need to search. From all accounts, however, that does not appear to be the case.