There seems to be someone in every family who has said “this is the best gift ever.” For Tammy Oswald’s family, that would be her daughter, Samantha. For Tammy’s birthday last year, it was tickets to see her favorite band. This year, it was something that could not be bought: seeing the son she placed for adoption 18 years ago.
An article in a local paper shares the story of Tammy, a single mother of two girls, who eighteen years ago became pregnant with her third child. She was having a very hard time financially and knew she couldn’t provide for another child so she placed her newborn son for adoption. In the years following that decision, Tammy went through an emotional roller coaster experiencing depression, guilt, and uncertainty about the future of her son.
What Tammy did not know was that her grown daughter, Samantha, had found the son Tammy had placed for adoption and was now named Dylan. The two texted and spoke by phone. Tammy frequently asked Dylan if would like to meet Tammy, his birth mother, but he kept saying that he wasn’t ready.
However, when Tammy’s birthday was nearing, Samantha invited Dylan to the celebration dinner. He accepted. Tammy was stunned when she found out that she would be seeing her son, the greatest birthday gift ever. Meeting Dylan was a surreal moment for Tammy. She stated, “The moment I looked back and saw him, so much ran through me. There was so much love, I just wanted to hold and kiss him.”
Another local article stated that Tammy and Dylan discovered they only live 90 minutes apart, which will enable them to build their relationship. Dylan is an avid soccer player and Tammy plans to attend one of his near future games.
It is so important to remember all people in the adoption triad, remember all the emotions that birth mothers face. For some birth mothers, who don’t have an open adoption, it can be a lifetime of questions and guilt. It is encouraging that more adoptions are becoming at least semi-open, so a birth mother’s questions can be answered. As Tammy stated when she saw Dylan again, “I felt whole for the very first time since I last held Dylan in my arms.”
If you want to find birth family, visit the new adoption search and reunion website for adoption training videos.
