Part 3: Growing up Adopted
I had a normal childhood and had plenty of cousins to play with. But I did yearn for a little sister. I never got my wish on that but I did get some nieces and nephews to play with and help take care of. In fact when I became Aunt at the ripe age of 9, I was beside myself with joy and so much pride. I felt like I had the prettiest niece ever. I later learned that I technically became an aunt at age 8 but didn't get to meet my biological family until later in life.
Growing up I always knew I was adopted and would share that knowledge with close friends and family along the way. I didn't tell a lot of people though. I met a whole lot of new people when I was adopted and if it wasn't for being adopted then I wouldn't have had the pleasure of knowing all the wonderful people I did.
I had some people in my life that had a hard time believing that I was adopted. They would tell me that I looked too much like one parent or the other to be. So I don't think there was a time that I can recall where I ever felt like I didn't fit in or belong.
I also knew that I had 3 older bio siblings and that they were two brothers and and a sister. But I had no memories of them or what they looked like or even how old they were. I was afraid that they may not even know about me. I would often imagine who they were and if they really did know about me or what they would think. I believe that kinda held me back awhile in trying to find out who they were. I was afraid of rejection and would not in anyway want to disrupt their lives.
But as I got older I had more of a desire to find them and hopefully get to know them. When I was adopted I was given a short story about me. In that story, it told me about my siblings and how I came into the world two months early. And how my mother and brothers were in my life until I was a year and a half of age. But then it also told me that my mother became too ill to take care of us. Which I have since found out is not the real truth.
If she was ill, then it was from mental illness. Her family has a lot of mental illness in it. I have since discovered that most of her 12 siblings suffered from mental illness or alcohol abuse. And that a good amount of my cousins were raised by other family members or some even placed for adoption like myself. I will add that my mother didn't place me for adoption. She ended up abandoning me and that lead to my adoption.
I grew up in a half Christian home with a Christian mom who took me to church and made sure I knew about God and at the age of 9 I asked God to save me and come live in my heart. I later was baptized at the age of fourteen. I think mainly because of the fear of water I had at the time. Possibly from the whole pool incident when I was first adopted..
Growing up I didn't have a desire to adopt any children for my own self. Even though I think it's a wonderful thing and I'm thankful and blessed to have had good adoptive parents that I always felt were my only ones, I just didn't want to adopt as long as I could have my own children. However if I had discovered that I couldn't have had children, then I would have considered adoption then.
Me as a mother, struggles with the idea of letting other people raise my flesh and blood. I know there are plenty of people that are raising other people's children or those being raised by others and I do not condemn any parent who may be facing that situation but I personally wouldn't want any one else to raise my kids unless I had became mentally and physically incapable of doing so.
I am thankful for and to those who have stepped up and helped raise someone else's children. They deserve an award for selfless and compassion and love for them. It takes someone special to give their love to someone else's children.
Growing up I always knew I was adopted and would share that knowledge with close friends and family along the way. I didn't tell a lot of people though. I met a whole lot of new people when I was adopted and if it wasn't for being adopted then I wouldn't have had the pleasure of knowing all the wonderful people I did.
I had some people in my life that had a hard time believing that I was adopted. They would tell me that I looked too much like one parent or the other to be. So I don't think there was a time that I can recall where I ever felt like I didn't fit in or belong.
I also knew that I had 3 older bio siblings and that they were two brothers and and a sister. But I had no memories of them or what they looked like or even how old they were. I was afraid that they may not even know about me. I would often imagine who they were and if they really did know about me or what they would think. I believe that kinda held me back awhile in trying to find out who they were. I was afraid of rejection and would not in anyway want to disrupt their lives.
But as I got older I had more of a desire to find them and hopefully get to know them. When I was adopted I was given a short story about me. In that story, it told me about my siblings and how I came into the world two months early. And how my mother and brothers were in my life until I was a year and a half of age. But then it also told me that my mother became too ill to take care of us. Which I have since found out is not the real truth.
If she was ill, then it was from mental illness. Her family has a lot of mental illness in it. I have since discovered that most of her 12 siblings suffered from mental illness or alcohol abuse. And that a good amount of my cousins were raised by other family members or some even placed for adoption like myself. I will add that my mother didn't place me for adoption. She ended up abandoning me and that lead to my adoption.
I grew up in a half Christian home with a Christian mom who took me to church and made sure I knew about God and at the age of 9 I asked God to save me and come live in my heart. I later was baptized at the age of fourteen. I think mainly because of the fear of water I had at the time. Possibly from the whole pool incident when I was first adopted..
Growing up I didn't have a desire to adopt any children for my own self. Even though I think it's a wonderful thing and I'm thankful and blessed to have had good adoptive parents that I always felt were my only ones, I just didn't want to adopt as long as I could have my own children. However if I had discovered that I couldn't have had children, then I would have considered adoption then.
Me as a mother, struggles with the idea of letting other people raise my flesh and blood. I know there are plenty of people that are raising other people's children or those being raised by others and I do not condemn any parent who may be facing that situation but I personally wouldn't want any one else to raise my kids unless I had became mentally and physically incapable of doing so.
I am thankful for and to those who have stepped up and helped raise someone else's children. They deserve an award for selfless and compassion and love for them. It takes someone special to give their love to someone else's children.
My Nieces and Nephew
My youngest nephew
These are my nieces and nephews from my adopted family!
This is part three of many parts
Stay Tuned for more parts....
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