Vilsack, 56, was adopted shortly after birth and has spoken of growing up in a family where his adoptive mother struggled with alcoholism and his adoptive father had financial setbacks. He has used his past as an example of rising above adversity, but the latest development could add detail to the story.

This article discusses the Iowa governor and his possible search for his birth mother. The irony never fails to escape me when I read about an adoptive parent who struggles with drugs or alcohol. Adoption is so often seen as giving a child a chance to grow up in a healthy family, one without alcohol or drug addicted parents one might presume.

However, even though it often turns out that way, it does not always happen that way.Just as the fortunes and circumstances in a family can improve quickly as it often does in birth families, adoptive families situations can drastically spiral downhill. Life is not the neat and precise path that we often expect it to be. Anyone else noticed that?

The article mentions that the governor, is said to be considering a search over the holidays. He was quoted as saying that one factor for him is his loyalty to his adoptive parents - even though they are no longer alive. His feelings regarding loyalty to his adoptive parents is quite common among adoptees. Some adoptees choose to wait until their adoptive parents have passed on, yet others even then do not search due to fears of appearing disloyal. Maybe the governor needs some educating that wanting to know your roots is not unnatural or disloyal to adoptive parents?

There will most likely be several articles continuing to surface about the governor's possible search. I will be following them with interest. One atypical element of the governor's story is that he received a letter from a nun telling him that records are available if he is interested. What are the odds of that happening? I am really curious about that aspect of this story.

How do most people react when they find out that their parents lied to them? Supposedly to "protect him," the governor was told that the records of his adoption were lost in a fire. Protect him from what? What impression does that leave - that a child needs protecting from their birth family? Is anger an appropriate response to being lied to, or is lying acceptable by adoptive parents if their motivations are pure? It is interesting the difference in the way some people respond when they find out that they have been not been told the truth, either by omission or otherwise. I wonder what does cause such different reactions?

Although hearing that a nun informed someone that records were available is highly unusual, the "fire destroyed your records" story is quite common. it makes one wonder - is it possible that there have been so many public records destroyed by fire? Nah, I don't think so, however, it is sufficient to discourage some searchers from continuing a search. I suspect discouraging a search and a need to "protect" a searcher from the truth are the most frequent reasons for the fire story. I have heard so many searchers say that they were told that a fire destroyed their records.

The Iowa governor is considering becoming a presidential candidate, so we could possibly have an adoptee in the White House in the next few years. Hmmm, that is an interesting scenario, especially if he does search and find his birth mother. Wonder if she will favor more maternity homes being built as our current administration does? i read somewhere that despite the problems in his adoptive family that the governor is pro adoption. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out.