As an "out of the closet", reunited birth mother, I often blog about the horrors of the baby scoop era, coercion in adoption, etc. I have decided to try for one blog or so a week about my "other life". While adoptive moms are living with adoption raising their children, I mostly just write about it now.

My other life is often most lively and enjoyable when I am with my daughter and granddaughter, and often the rest of their family. The subject of adoption rarely crops up. My daughter does not care to discuss the subject.

Last Sunday, we decided to get together so that I could give my granddaughter's 8th birthday presents to her. Although I have two bright and talented grandsons that I adore, my connection with my granddaughter is admittedly the strongest. My daughter and I were meeting in a nearby town for lunch, and to browse their Sunday farmer's market. The town's main drag has an area blocked off with crafts, the farmer's market and children's activities.

The children's activities are great fun for my lively little granddaughter, Annie. As you can see from the photo above, she is quite artistic, and usually presents me with a picture that she has drawn for me when we get together. One of the presents I presented her with was a drawing board-type toy. She immediately opened it up and happily began to draw.

After lunch, we strolled through the market and Annie choose a few of the children's events to do. She had asked me before we finished lunch if I wanted to see the petting zoo. How could I refuse? Besides my daughter said it had a squealy little pot-bellied pig, as she knows that I have a weakness for pigs. It was the movie "Babe" that turned me on to how cute pigs are.

Annie took my hand and led me into the pen to see the barnyard animals. As I glanced around, I saw mainly goats in varied colors. I quickly recalled the last time that I had seen goats. In sunny Southern California, goats are not an everyday sight. The goats in the pen looked much like the goats I had seen two summers ago in the Swiss Alps towards the end of a long and arduous hike! We were hiking along, tiring as we were approaching the end of our hike, and suddenly we came across about 15 or so goats blocking the trail. No pot-bellied pigs though!