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Nine years ago, I placed my daughter for adoption.
Last night, my families true colors shown.
I had been reluctant to say anything to them about our decision to adopt and our infertility issues because of their lack of supportlast night I let my guard down with my dad, and boy do I regret it!
He called on Easter to wish us a happy Easter (even tho we don't celebrate) and talk to Jerrett. After talking to Jerrett he asked me if I would allow them to use their Airline Miles to fly Jerrett down to Texas for a week for a visit. Naturally I had reservations about that, and explained to him that John and I would need to talk about it.
We decided that provided that he understood he had to follow some strict instructions, weŒd allow it, so I called him to tell him.
I went over everything with him and he agreed, and then said, Maybe you and John could go on vacation or something just the two of you.Ӕ I knew his heart was in the right place, hes really tried hard since Thanksgiving to put a little more effort into our relationship҅so I let my guard down and explained to him that wed elected to forego any vacations or extraҒs in order to have the money for either infertility treatments/childbirth or adoption. Thats when the poop hit the fan!
He said, ғChildbirth? Adoption? Why are you doing that? You already gave one kid away, why do you think anyone is going to let you have another?
Arf!
Now, IԒve really tried to keep in perspective that although my dad is an adoptive dad, he is very uneducated on the feelings of adoptees and birthmothersnot only that, he is about as disconnected from the whole adoption scene as I have ever seen a triad memberŅ
I said to him, Do you really think that someone who places a child for adoption should not be allowed to have more kids at a later time?Ӕ
He said, Well, no, I donӒt
Floored, I said, ԓYou know, there are many birthmothers who place because they are very young (not me, but he knew that) and they place because they are youngso you think that once these birthmothers get older and marry, they shouldnŒt be allowed the opportunity to become a parent?
He said, ԓYa, thats right, there is something wrong with a system that allows anyone who places a child for adoption the ability to get pregnant again!Ҕ
Still floored, I said, What about adoption, I guess you are against that as well?Ӕ
He said, No, I guess if someone wants to give their kid to someone who already tossed one aside, then thatӒd be ok.
At this point, IԒm trying VERY hard not to hang upI know that his opinions are based on ignoranceŅbut it doesnt make it any less painful.
He did go on to say that he thought Jerrett would be served best as an only child and that I should be happy with the one I have. I explained that we were happy with Jerrett and love him to pieces҅but that we would like more children. He refused to listen
Now, going into this, I had ZERO preconceived notions about how my œfamily would react to all of this. I had, in passing, mentioned adoption to other family members (my mother, namely) and she explained that I should be really weary of bringing ԓsomeone elses kidҔ into my home, because they destroy lives(she told his to her adopted daughterŅ) What I didnt expect was the seething hurtful words said by an adoptive father to his adopted daughter who also happens to be a birthmother. I mean, I guess I kinda always knew they viewed adoption as second best (obviously) but I never knew they had such vile opinions about it҅
I guess at this point, my father feels I should not be able to conceive a child, which has been the case already anyway, and that I should have been sterilized after placing M nine years ago (Yes, he said that, Im not freakin kidding)҅although if some womanӔ wants to give her baby to someone who already gave one of her babies awayӔ thatd be ok҅
How do I talk to himI didn't get mad last nightŅI was to dumbfounded to get madbut I do think there is hopeŅhow can I make him understand that his words hurt me.
Almost two years ago, there was a big family feud over some words that were said about me to my sonmy dad, while agreeing with me over the phone and explaining that he understand, would turn around and contradict himself to othersŅit was hurtful, so I sent him a very long letter explaining that it hurtand we didnŒt talk for 18 months afterwards, because I guess I cant have a voice.
Im not ready to ғwash my hands of the relationshipԅbut given the dynamics of it all, I worry that voicing my discontent will result in the loss of an already strained relationship.
Any advice? Id love to hear it!
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Oh, Brandy!! (((Hugs))) I do not know what to say. I have had a lot of comments said to me about our decision to adopt from family members. Some positive, some negative, all unsolicited. But to hear things like that from your dad... who ADOPTED you, just blows me away. And as far as you not having another child because you placed your daughter NINE years ago is outrageous. People change and grow from day to day, a lot of changing and growing happens in nine years.........
Casey
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OMG, Brandy, I dont know what to say. I dont think I could have held it together as well as you did.
My older sister once commented years ago on my parenting, made some rude comment about me having a child after I surrendered my first, along the same lines as your dad was going.
With all of the factors you mention, I find your fathers statements amazing. Could there be something more there than what appears obvious? I dont know your relationship or details but I found I benefit from looking deeper at things, dont take the first reaction or surface appearance - they are usually just symptoms of deeper issues.
I really dont know. Still dumbfounded myself after reading your post!
I dunno Suzto add insult to injury, my adoptive mom placed girl/boy twins in 1959Ņif he honestly thought that birthmothers didnt have the right to parent after they placed, why did they try so hard to have a biological child?
Like I said, I am more inclined to believe he is just not thinking things thru clearly. IҒm not sure if my dad is a birthfather, although the possibility of that doesnt surprise me. I mean, he was very unfaithful throughout the marriage to my adoptive mom҅he was sexually active before marriagewas in the Navy in the late fifties to early sixties, then went UA to live with a French lady for a couple of years before he was arrested and sent to a military prison to serve out the rest of his enlistment.
I just don't understand it.
I doubt that IŒd be able to convey my emotions via letterI think, if anything, I will need to sit down with him and have a long talkŅso he can see that he has hurt me. Sometimes, words just don't convey the true emotions that someone feels.
At any rate, thank you all for your words of supportI try really hard not to let ignorant words upset meŅso many people just don't understand adoptionI try to look at it the same way someone would if I opened my mouth about a topic I didn't understandŅ
Brandy, seems like I remember that you've had trouble with your a-family for most of your life. Don't know if these thoughts would apply...but here's a weird perspective I've encountered in my family:
I have an aunt by marriage that had a child, almost died, and was told not to get pregnant again b/cause she would probably die in childbirth. They eventually adopted. Her parents were ecstatic...never said much about the "adoption" part...but had a nephew that adopted two daughters years later. When my aunt's father referred to these girls he always whispered--"they're adopted, you know"....Kinda how people say "Cancer" like it's a tragedy or a secret.
Anyway, we always thought that weird with her dad, Sam. Then once he died (her mother had already passed) my aunt found some paperwork that showed very clearly that her mother had her 3 years before she ever married her "Dad." Then she found adoption paperwork---he had adopted her---and they never told her. She later found out the whole story....her bfather had died in the war, her parents were not married, blah blah blah....but why was this kept secret?
And how strange that he always whispered the adoption part...
After some years, she has come to realize that in his heart...she wasn't his "adopted" daughter...she was his. It had been so long ago...that he didn't even think of it either.
It is still an enigma to us that he made certain to label others "adopted" when it didn't matter in his own life?
Anyway, I wonder if perhaps, not erasing his hurtful comments, he didn't really realize the connection of what he was saying? I realize he did know the connection about you...but looking at your mother's circumstances....?!?
Doesn't excuse his hurtful, hateful words to you. Just thought I'd share another family's story.
We are currently experiencing difficulties with my hateful grandmother...and I, too, am struggling with what to do. I'm watching this thread closely hoping to get some words of wisdom.
God Bless!
Brandy,
If I wasn't a bmum myself I would if I was reading a novel instead of a real incident and under the circumstances your parents should be understanding. Wish I could say something constructive really. Incidently a few years ago my husband and I were thinking about adopting or fostering so brought the subject up with my parents and the looks they gave us were enough to freeze the Atlantic. All we wanted to know was how they felt about it and their response was very much on the lines of 'Why would you want to do that?'. They made us feel quite uncomfortable about it but said they would have to accept it if we went ahead with this. Wonderful attitude coming from two people who pressured me and used emotional blackmail to get me to agree to my bson being adopted. Yet if we had our own children they would accept the child so where's the logic there?
Philippa
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BrandyHagz
I dunno Suzto add insult to injury, my adoptive mom placed girl/boy twins in 1959Ņif he honestly thought that birthmothers didnt have the right to parent after they placed, why did they try so hard to have a biological child?Like I said, I am more inclined to believe he is just not thinking things thru clearly. IҒm not sure if my dad is a birthfather, although the possibility of that doesnt surprise me. I mean, he was very unfaithful throughout the marriage to my adoptive mom҅he was sexually active before marriagewas in the Navy in the late fifties to early sixties, then went UA to live with a French lady for a couple of years before he was arrested and sent to a military prison to serve out the rest of his enlistment. At any rate, thank you all for your words of supportŅI try really hard not to let ignorant words upset meso many people just don't understand adoptionŅI try to look at it the same way someone would if I opened my mouth about a topic I didn't understand
I am dumbfounded as well and all I can think is the man has some sort of organic brain disease going on. On the other hand - not everyone deserves a front row seat in our lives. The following helped me understand this, maybe it will help you.
Life is a Theater . . . Invite Your Audience Carefully!
Not everyone is healthy enough to have a front row seat in our lives. There are some people in our lives that need to be loved from a distance. Its amazing what you can accomplish when you let go of or at least minimize your time with draining, negative, incompatible, not going anywhere relationships or friendships.
Observe the relationships around you. Pay close attention. Which ones lift and which ones lean? Which ones encourage and which ones discourage? Which ones are on a path of growth uphill and which ones are going downhill? When you leave certain people do you feel better or feel worse? Which ones always have drama or donҒt really understand, know or appreciate you?
The more you seek Quality, Respect, Growth, Peace of Mind, Love, and Truth around you, the easier it will become for you to decide who gets to sit in the front row and who should be moved to the balcony of your life.
Remember that the people we hang with will have an impact on our lives. And so, we must be careful to choose the people we hang out with, as well as the information with which we feed our minds.
We should not share our dreams with negative people, nor feed them with negative thoughts.
So, I ask the question. . .
Whos in YOUR front row?
Brandy,
I know i don't know you, but I am so proud of you for your courage and strength. You really are an inspiration to me. I don't know what was going through your dad's head when he said those things, but my thoughts are, "it's about him." Same goes for you a-mom. When people try to hurt us with outrageous statements, I believe it is something in them they don't want to look at. Still the pain is very real because we want our parents to love us unconditionally. I've come to the conclusion many people are just not capable of giving us what we need. I think it's great that you want to adopt and/or keep trying to have a baby. Why are birthmothers forever held in bondage instead of celebrated? I am so thankful to my birthmother and my daughter's birthmother!
Lynard1210
Brandy,No offense, but if your dad is talking about being "allowed" to have children then who ever "allowed" him to adopt with such an attitude.Please don't this the wrong way. I also have a very vocal and ignorant family.I saw a bumper sticker the other day at the mall which read "If only closed minds came with closed mouths."Enough said.
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