Advertisements
Advertisements
:wings:
Background:
I was born in august of 1970 and adopted very shortly after by a wonderful couple who had they had it their way I would never have been told I was adopted. They did however explain over the years how special I was , on the same note my adoption was a very secretive outside of the family and not usually discussed.
Years later i had my first child and she was born with a genetic issue with her kidney ...so after testing it was determined it was through my side and the search began.
I registered in the province I was born and a few months later I received my non identifying information....Didnt help too much but it was interesting to see a little more detail about who I was and where I came from. I was saddened to learn that my birth father had no idea I existed or who he was. It did have some basic information of both my birthmom and BF ( number of siblings, heights weights , how long they knew each other etc... but that was it . The worker let me know that my birthmom was married and had never had any more children or told her husband about having a child when she was in her late teens and could not have contact at this time. I left it at that and filed it all away.
The Last Year:
I am a mom to two wonderful daughters now and last year one of them was asked to do a genealogy project.
I really don't know how you all feel about this but as I helped trace back my adoptive family's history and helped my daughter do her project it made me think...really think ....Was this really an accurate history on my child's heritage? Why was this all feeling dishonest ?
We moved across the country in the summer and when we moved my Adoptive mom handed me an envelope ... It was the legal documents from my adoption and included my birth name and my birthmom's maiden name.
After settling back in I looked at the package again and then my search began.
I found her maiden name ( with her hyphenated married name) in a high school registry - could it be this easy?
Looked her up on facebook and found about 8 people with the same name and 5 of those were in the province I was born in.
3 I ruled out right away - wrong ages etc.. all but one had open photo albums. That one had only a few photos available to the public....and one picture had me shaking...it was the spitting image of my youngest daughter ( who has my coloring but I could never quite figure out who she looked like) The next picture sealed the deal for me...It was a picture of a lady with her 5 brothers, she had also noted that four were older and one was younger just like the information I had on my non identifying paperwork.
Then the fear of being rejecting kicked in again. I decided to look at her brothers' profiles. One was the closest in age to her and their banter on his page made me believe that they were close....I don't know what possessed me but I wrote him a private letter. My non identifying information as well as the letter from the Nun that handled my case all those years ago had noted that her brothers had been very supportive and had visited her while I was being carried.
He wrote back, and continued to do so for the last 9 months. he has become a very close person to me. My first blood connection to this mysterious past. He calls me his niece ( not on his page of course) and I call him my Uncle. He and I decided together that I should write her a letter which I could email to her ( and send a copy privately to her FB) first explaining that I wasn't about to show up on her doorstep or disrupt her life but only to find out the details of mine, including if possible the details of my BF.
That was August 29th ...no acknowledgment of the email, no message back...nothing.
My Uncle ( bless him) is furious , and although I am hurt I am STILL feeling bad for her and trying to defend the possibilities as to why she hasn't to her own brother.
He left a phone message today for her to call him so I guess in the next few days I may or may not hear some more of my story. In the meantime am feeling pretty stressed and sad .
You already have contacted her in a direct way by emailing her yourself. This time a ministry was not the go-between.
That is a good thing.
I don't think there is ever a good time to feel rejected. There are better times, but there are no good times for it. It hurts.... I hope that won't be the case with you , though.
Advertisements
And the waiting continues, seems she was away for the weekend ... I'm starting to wonder if I will ever know more :( feeling a little down today
Well it seems its all stalled , and I still haven't heard anything back from her at all. I'm starting to think she just wants to pretend I don't exist so I think I'm going to let it rest a bit so I can stop feeling so disappointed for a bit
I'm so sorry.... For some of our mothers, it appears that burying one's head in the sand is a major coping mechanism.
What does your uncle say? Did he talk with her?
I completely understand your need to step back from this for a while and to reenergize. It can be exhausting.
I thought you might benefit from reading the following editorial, which was written by Carole Anderson (former president of Concerned United Birthparents). It's entitled "Why Won't My Birthmother Meet me?":
[url=http://pacer-adoption.org/education_editorials/birthmother_wont_edu.htm]Why Won't My Birthmother Meet Me?[/url]
Thanks for the ear , it means a lot as I really don't feel comfortable with sharing this with others just yet. I really think she might be thinking if she doesn't respond then I don't exist. Uncle had tried to reach her a few times and left a few messages for her to call him back but she hasn't yet. Or at least that's what I hoping and that he isn't trying to protect me from knowing she won't disclose anything. He has had a rough week ( his fur buddy had to be put down) so I'm not pushing right now.
It makes so so happy to see many BM's out there who want to connect , even if its not in person and then it hits hard wondering why mine won't even provide me with the information I have been missing all these years ... I think I'm at the point where I am leaning towards never wanting to meet her at all but just want to know who my father was and that story .
You have been a great sounding board and I so appreciate it :thanks:
Advertisements
The title of the editorial is a bit misleading. It's really about secondary rejection. It is not just helpful for those who cannot get their mothers to meet them. It is also helpful for those who cannot even get their b-moms to engage at all.
I do hope that your mother will open up to you. Some mothers won't. And, many others won't share the name of the father.
My fear is that she has never let the name be known. She didn't tell your b-dad about you. She probably never even shared the name with the adoption service.
Was your uncle aware of the pregnancy? Even if he wasn't, he may know who she was seeing at the time. And, he could give you the information about your father.
I have read it before but it was helpful reading it again. All of her immediate family knew about it at the time . Unfortunately , he does not remember a lot as he wasn't at home .... He has a bit if an idea and did discuss it with another brother who has an idea but they want her to confirm it to them . My BF and his family were never told and it was never disclosed to the agency or on any documentation .... I do have some clues to narrowing it down to my uncle though because my paperwork included the ages of his parents and siblings at the time of my birth. I just have this feeling that if it doesn't come from her I will never know.
I'll keep the faith but realistically I've come to the realization I may never know it all until its too late
When you've reenergized a bit, I think you should talk with you uncle about it again.
Give him the information you have and ask him directly if it matches the person he believes it to be. If it does, tell him that probably isn't a coincidence and ask him for the info. It's worth a try.
You may also want to try DNA testing services, such as 23andMe. I know someone who was able to located her biological father's family through the service. You provide your DNA, and if members of your father's family are also in the company's database, you'll match with them. Yes, it is a needle in a haystack.
I think the big problem you're facing is that she doesn't want to deal with the fallout from your father finding out. I think she fears his emotions and fears her secret will be revealed to her husband.
I'm so sorry. It just isn't fair. I hope she will come around.
Well my uncle spoke to my birth mother yesterday and she refused to talk about any of it to the point she said its in the past period . It's so sad for me to know that I will probably never know who my father is/was or if I have any half siblings through him. There is a father out there who never knew he had a child as well. I don't think she will ever disclose this information either.
Today I feel like a ghost ... Someone who doesn't exist , a secret that was stored away and forgotten like a stray dog given up... I know this is a really bad example but it is how I feel deep down inside . The bitter rejection I felt 10 years ago when I registered and she denied contact and didn't even want to hear the letter I submitted to the ministry pales in comparison to what I am feeling today.
How can a mother not care at all about a child they brought into the world . I didn't need a reunion , or continued contact , just something as simple as who am I and my story that's all . I know the tears will stop eventually and one day I may even be able to find forgiveness but that day won't be today :confused: I'm just left with this empty feeling
Advertisements
I'm so sorry she is behaving that way. I wish things were different for you.
I hope she changes her mind and talks to you.
Thanks Sitta ,
I sat down this morning and wrote an email to her explaining that I am fine with not ever meeting but asking if she could find an ounce of compassion and perhaps just ensure that she one day writes down his name so I will get it one day
Well , I finally received an email back from my birthmother, almost wished I hadn't . Seems she has a lot of anger issues with those days and just about her entire email back was trying to make me feel guilty for what she had to go through . What concerned me the most was she contradicted all the non disclosure details I have regarding my birthfather ..... So after much thought I finally decided to send away for possible contact with him . Here is hoping she didn't completely lie back then or in the email she sent . The ministry seems to have a lot of detailed information about h however her letter indicates her father provided all that information and from what she wrote I'm stuck wondering whether what was given was all false information .... Or is what she wrote in the email a lie in hopes I will give up my search for information .
Today I mailed the application for paternal information and possible contact . One way or another I'm sure the name she listed is going to be looking for her for information
Now I just wait for the ministry to get back to me
:(
Advertisements
Hi NovaScotiaBorn,
I'm sorry to hear that was her response. You have nothing to feel guilty for, though... I hope you don't let her statements affect you.
Non-disclosure details are iffy. Part of what I was given about my first mother was wrong and based on an assumption someone in the agency made based on something they saw, but their interpretation was pretty much the opposite of reality.
I really hope you are able to find your father.
I agree with the non-identifying information being iffy.
But, in my case, most of the non-id was correct. After I found my mother, it appears she chose to rewrite history a bit. My mother's story didn't match with the non-id from two different agencies, and each agency did its own intake interview. After finding my father, I found that his story gelled with the non-id info.
So, the validity of non-identifying information can be anything from highly inaccurate to highly accurate.