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I am 34 and I have always known I was adopted and have nothing but praise for my adopted parents.
Ten years ago I found my birth mother, and two unexpected biological brothers. This has been largely positive, though I have a few 'betrayal' issues I guess.
My birth father I only met a couple of years ago. He had ten years to make contact, but it never happened. Finally, in not the most ideal of circumstances, we met. We talked, but I didn't feel any bond, and further meetings haven't been strongly pursued by either of us. I am now wondering whether I should instigate another meeting, or let it lie. The pros and cons I see are these.
PROS> We could develop a mutually beneficial relationship and I could compare myself to him and identify possible personality traits that could answer questions I have about my own personality.
CONS> As suggested by our first meeting, we could have little in common and i couold end up feeling more rejected than before. There is also the guilt factor that I already have a fine father in my adopted family, and perhaps I don't have a 'father-shaped hole' in my life that needs filling. I worry that the end result is going to be two adults with little in common struggling in vain to connect. My birth brothers have not had a particularly positive relationship with their/our father, and I understand that his current spouse is pressurising him to keep us apart, and he is compliant with this.
Close friends feel that I should pursue a relationship, but I feel that they have little understanding of the complex feelings of the adopted child. I have been worried lately that if he were to die and i had not explored our relationship, I would regret it. Now however, I am feeling that he is little more than a sperm-donor, and my real allegiance is to the people that brought me up in a loving, supportive environment.
I would appreciate any experiences from other adopteees in a similar situation.
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Thanks for the support Katiebaby - since posting I've decided to instigate another meeting, through my brother. If it doesn't work out, I think I'll be able to deal with it.
Good luck with your own reunion. Whatever happens, you must allow yourself to experience whatever feelings arise without trying to pretend otherwise. Even with my relatively positive experience it has taken me years to face up to my true feelings about being adopted. I think I saw a happy reunion as the end of the story, but it's only recently that I've recognised that i was in denial about the effects my adoption has had, hard as they are to ever pin down.
Yes, I've only seen my real father the one time, and there may well be some guilt on his side - that's something I'm just thinking about.
I hope you find peace and closure with your meeting - though be prepared for it to not be a miracle cure. Take it for what it is, whatever that may be. But don't take what i'm saying too negatively, my reunion was a huge step in understanding myself, and i have a good relationship with my bmother and brothers.
And apologies for sounding too Dr Phil but remember that the most important person in any equation is you. You have a right to know who your parents are, and there is no need to feel guilty (not that you say you do) about pushing for a reunion if your bparents are tentative.
I'm feeling quite militant today.:)
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How did the meeting go?
For the first time in my life, I might have the opportunity to meet my birth father. Since he is 80, I wanted to have the blessings of his other children. While I am in this stage, I fear that something will happen and I will never have the chance.
I am glad you instigated another meeting.
Carolyn Kay