Late Discovery and Successful Reunion
I had known I was adopted from the time I was 29 (which was 11 years ago). I found out after both my adoptive parents had passed away, through papers that they had saved from the adoption lawyer. I didn’t have the courage to start my search then because I thought it would be disrespectful to my adoptive parents to search so soon after they had passed away. So, I just tucked the papers that I found away and figured I would look into it when the time was right. So, here it is, 11 years later, coming up on my 40th birthday and something told me that it was time. I asked an older cousin who was very close with my adoptive parents, and she confirmed the fact that I was adopted, but didn’t know from where or who my birth parents were. I then spoke to a childhood friend of my adoptive dad and he was around for most of the process, but again, not sure as to where exactly I came from. I knew what state I was born in (which was not the one I grew up in) but always thought my adoptive parents were my mom and dad. I had contacted my “birth state” which has a registry for adoptees’ medical histories, but since it was only started 10 years ago, the chance was slim that anyone would have sent information about me. So they gave me the information for the county court where I was born and to get in touch with the clerk of the orphans’ court, since they open adoption records. After filling out the necessary paperwork, I waited. About 2 months after contacting the court, the court then contacted me letting me know that I indeed did have family members and one of them had contacted the same court one year earlier. It was a biological sister. I was given her information; she was given mine and we began to email, then speak on the phone. And the week before Thanksgiving of this year, I got to meet my sister, my brother, an aunt, a niece and nephew, and cousins. And I now keep in touch with other aunts as well with more cousins to come!
Unfortunately, my birth mother passed away a year and a half ago and my birth father really doesn’t sound like that nice of a guy, but I am so overjoyed that I got to meet the people in my new family that wanted to meet me! The best part is, most of them knew about me for years, but I had NO idea about them. Now I do and I couldn’t be happier! – Samantha