The journey was somewhat rocky in the beginning of Fred's reunion. See part 1 for details. To recap, it took his birth mother an entire year to finally summon up the courage to respond to his initial letter.

The year of waiting was not an easy one for Fred. However, he was fortunate to have a great deal of support during that year and contact with both adoptees and birth parents. Even so, he never gave up and I greatly admired his courage to continue to hope.

Back to his story. Fred flew out to meet and spend time with his birth mom several times after they first began their phone calls. However, during those first few visits, since he was still a "secret", he stayed in a motel on the outskirts of town. I should say "the" motel - it was an extremely small town and only had one motel!

After many months of talking late at night in secret, Maude's husband "caught her" and the cat was finally out of the bag. Maybe I should say that Fred was no longer a secret? Maude finally had to tell her husband about Fred. Her husband began working on her to tell their sons about Fred.

Another year or so went by. Fred and Maude kept talking on the telephone and their relationship evolved very slowly. Maude was still quite reluctant to share her news about Fred to her family and friends. She was still deeply ashamed and guilty and feared rejection of her friends and family. Finally, her husband convinced Maude that their sons needed to know about Fred.

The next time Fred flew to the Midwest to visit his birth family, he stayed with Maude and her husband – on the farm – with cornfields galore. He met his three half-brothers, their spouses and children and a whole host of other birth family members. Fortunately Fred’s brothers and rest of his birth family accepted and welcomed him warmly. Reunion did not instantly transform Fred's life - it rarely does. However, he feels more grounded, at peace and is enjoying continuing the relationship with his brothers and birth mom. His place in this world now seems to make more sense and he finally understands what all that corn planting was all about!