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The reunion has been almost a year and the time has went very fast. I'm past 65 years but had a place missing in my heart for my birth parents. And than, my birth mother found me. This has led to an incredible journey. My birth mother and I have had many phone conversations prior to meeting 2 months later in person. I met my sister,birth mother side, at the same time. I have 2 more brothers who I have not met personally. My sister lives within 1 hour of me, but we have not continue with a relationship. My mother lives on the West coast and we continue to visit by phone and are planning another visit this coming year. She gave me information regarding my birth father. Next step was to find my birth father and my siblings. I discovered my birth father was deceased. I found my sister, birth father, on facebook and she introduced me to my other sister and 2 brothers. This sister,father's side, has remained close to me and we talk and have met once. One brother and I have chatted on occassion but have not developed a relationship. The other brother and sister have not accepted me as their 1/2/ sister. Where do I go from here. Do I accept what is and give up? I feel sad because they are so much a part of me and yet they do not feel the same. In some ways I'm still rejected because of my difference. I'm adopted, but I'm illegitimate. The sisters and brothers are embarassed becasue of the affair. Is my mother ashamed after all she is 86? I know she is wondering what will her friends and family will think. In my adopted family, I'm legal but not of blood. I grew up with an adopted brother and we have grown apart after our adopted parents died. In school family trees were the homework of terror and nightmares. Than I watch my children and grandchildren go through the same nightmare. Cousins I grew up with and played with do not understand why I care about the family past(their history). I even had one cuz say but you are not blood, why does it mean anything to you.
Suzie, what happened to you as a young girl is a series of events that started before you were born.
At that time, there was a concern related to heritage, how you got here, were your parents married, etc. It was almost a time of ancestral worship. There had to be a direct linking to your birth parents. It's hard to know what that proved, but it was important. Many viewed adoption as being linked to "the dark side."
It's different now. It seems that in spite of the re-union and long term adoption changes, some family members continue to hold beliefs from an earlier era.
Your search and how it is brought about is yours. Portions of your search mean a great deal to you and it is those pieces of the search that will be left to you to resolve. Some issues may never be resolved, but they are still important to you.
Adoption is a life long sentence. Re-union may answer many questions, but the posters here indicate that re-union does not erase or change many adoption problems. Also a common adoption theme is that re-unions require a great deal of work and time.
Because everyone in the triad has expectations regarding the re-union and how it should go, there will be some parts that don't fit or can't be resolved.
Sometimes all we can have are some endings to long term concerns. The re-union events may not be all we hoped for but it's all we can get.
Additionally, people who have never come through a deep, emotional, experience will have trouble understanding your feelings related to searching.
There is a quote which says a lot: "I did not ask for the life I was given, nonetheless it was given, and with it I did my best."
I wish you the best.
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Thank you for your kind words. It is a time of joy and sadness for me. This journey is sometimes more than I can bare. It is part of me that I thought resolved, but discovered it is not. May the New Year bring peace to all.
Suzie 1945