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Birth father passed away o may remember me and my adoption, reunion story. Part of that journey ended
This week. I found out on a FB post that he passed away (public post from his daughter).He was buried Wednesday in a family service. I feel so many things right now. The memories of meeting him, the cards and emails letting me know he never signed over his rights and looked for me for years. His assurance that I was his "baby", his daughter and my son ( who he was so thrilled looked like him ) was his grandson. Until mid 2011 when he dropped all contact with no was incredibly painful and i soon realized that
The secondary rejection was compounded in y mind by my first rejection by them. Having been born at a little over one pound..i was in hospital until I was released 3 months later to medical foster wonderful people became my mommy and daddy until i was deemed viable for adoption at 18 months and after one meeting with potential adoptive parents, was dropped off to live with a family of 3 biological children. My adoptive mother asked
to dissolve the adoption when I was 3.not because I rad, had behavioral issues but because she could not deal w the medical issues or bond. My adopted dad said no. So I was kept. Creating the perfect storm as it was clear from day one she did not love me and told me so. Her isolation of me set the pattern of isolation with siblings etc. she would often tell me she would not tell my grandparents and others how horrible i was so that someone would love me. When i was 15 it all crashed down and they agreed to place me with the state. Who would not take me back and the psychologist we saw actually excused my parents a.d told me it was them..not me. They found another family to take guardianship of me through high school and i saw another life could be possible and life was bliss for awhile. They opened up the possibility that I was not this bad child. As an adult, feeling stable, i went on a journey to find the missing pieces of my life. It was truly a miracle. But again, words, not action and when. It all fell apart I again thought in my still lurking child's mind that it was me, i was stupid, ugly, not enough. Entered pretty intense counseling and have been grieving these loses to put them away and move forward. The past does not have to be our story. The last time i came to these boards i was told and have seen posts by others claiming they do want to be associated with adoptees who claim abuse and others who warn they may be liars. Who would lie and why. I have spent my life building a family, nurturing that family and making sure i am doing the best and right thing for them. I have a healthy career and am going to school for social services. I understand that these people are human that mental illness was present and i forgive. But it is hard to know this man is now gone . .period. I will never know why. Or why he chose to tell all his family of me but the obituary mentions nothing, no little note of another daughter or grandson he had waited his whole life to find. I would never want to intrude on his family's grief. I just feel erased again. I actually had a dad for a brief moment in time. I never went in looking for a daddy, he full on called, sent picture's, welcomed his grandson, called me his baby girl..said he would never leave again. Not even in the last moments of his life was i a thought? I loved him unconditionally. I hope someone out their might understand my pain. I feel alone and so incredibly sad.
I am so very sorry for your loss. It is hard to loose someone once, but to loose that person a second time must be absolutely devistating. Again, I am so sorry for your loss.
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Bear this in mind. He didn't write his obituary. He told you how he felt and the rest of them for whatever reason did not acknowledge his feelings for you. I am sorry he wasn't able to continue the connection.
I have to keep my memories of being close to my birthfather safe because he suffered a debilitating illness and for whatever reason his immediate family including my birthmother (they eventually married each other) felt that my presence during the months he was hospitalized may have been too much for him. He is still alive but when I called the last time my birthmother said I will ask him if he wants to talk to you. Then she said "he's sleeping"....which of course was not true because she had just said he got up to go to the bathroom. He didn't come to the phone. My heart blew up at that moment and I had to make a shift or I would have gone off the deep end.
I wonder to this day if they told him I wanted to come and see him and that they said "no wait until he's doing better". I listened to them out of politeness instead of doing what I wanted to do which was to get in the car the minute my brother told me he was sick. They didn't call me until he was in the hospital almost a week. I beat myself up enough over not following my gut. In the back of my mind it tears me up to think he might feel I didn't care enough to come. I have to live with that. I don't want to cause him any more stress and write a letter making him feel bad or blaming it on the rest of my family. What good would that do?
Even though she is my birthmother she became a gate keeper over my contact with my birthfather and said some pretty nasty things over the years. I think she resented the fact that he wanted contact when she would rather I slipped into oblivion. That's her issue not mine and she has to live with it.
It is a loss that has caused me grief. But I have to grieve alone without camaraderie from his two sons who might have been like brothers to me had we grown up together or had things since the reunion been more open. They are very protective of her.
No one will ever take the closeness away. I keep that in my heart. Sadly they weren't able to acknowledge it.
I am sorry you had to go through what you had to go through but at least you had a chance to get to know him as I did my father. It's a double edged sword to find someone and connect and then have to let them go. I know that isn't enough, trust me. But we can't go back and change what happened. Hold the good memories close to your heart and let the rest go.
lost_2010,
I am so, so sorry. I can't imagine the pain you are going through. I, too, know this is probably how I'll find out about my birthfather's demise when the time comes and I shutter to think of what that will do to me mentally when I care so very much. I am truly sorry for your loss. Please keep posting through your pain.
I wish you peace.
Moonbeam
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"I am sorry you had to go through what you had to go through but at least you had a chance to get to know him as I did my father. It's a double edged sword to find someone and connect and then have to let them go. I know that isn't enough, trust me. But we can't go back and change what happened. Hold the good memories close to your heart and let the rest go."
Wise words and I am trying. I struggle with if anything he said was true or real since he stopped contact. I so want his words to be real and I can still hear his voice when he called on my birthday (last phone call) and he had sent flowers and a card. He told me never forget he was there with me when I was born. He could not hold me because I was too premature, but he was there and he has always loved me. I want to hold on to the connection I thought we had.
I will never forget him,meeting him, or his gift of life. It's so confusing. I want to say goodbye. Tell him again that I love him.
Thanks MurphyMalone
moonbeam_1
lost_2010,
I am so, so sorry. I can't imagine the pain you are going through. I, too, know this is probably how I'll find out about my birthfather's demise when the time comes and I shutter to think of what that will do to me mentally when I care so very much. I am truly sorry for your loss. Please keep posting through your pain.
I wish you peace.
Moonbeam
I pray you will reconnect with your father Moonbeam 1 AND MurphyMalone. No other person has the right to control your relationships with your fathers. It makes me SOO angry. Murphy is right, hold on to your connection and memories. But we all deserve at least a final chance to say what we feel to that person and have closure...some kind of closure. Not the final silence. I could have flown to his home and asked him to speak with me-something...Sent a letter (not email) expressing my feelings and tried to understand the reason for his silence. Too late. Don't let it be too late for you if there is a way.
I agree. It's not like they had total power over the situation; no one does really.
But when people try to step in to protect someone that really doesn't need protecting out of jealously or who knows what it would be nice if they considered how selfish it is to do that.
I think that it's really good your father connected in the way he did. You know how much he meant to you and no one can take that away. He obviously cared about you to send flowers and call on your birthday.
Wow. That's something I would have loved from my father. He didn't pick up the phone; it was mostly me calling. I told him too but he said he didn't know when I was busy and felt like he didn't want to bother me.