KCSL Adoption Booklet

was beautiful, loving, touching, sad and oh
so powerful! That one letter set the tone and
the direction for all the years following that
moment. I had never met this woman, but she
already had my understanding and admiration
for her courage while I, at the same time,
shared her sadness. It was a letter of love and
pain in making a difficult decision for someone
else’s life. How incredible that letter was and
what impact it carried! To this very day she has
my undying respect and most sincere gratitude!
And while I can rejoice in the gift she gave us,
I am also still touched by sadness that she as
birth mother missed the joys we had raising her
baby, our daughter!
We were so appreciative that KCSL determined
it appropriate to share this letter with us. We
kept that letter and shared it with our daughter
as an older teen. It explained so much about
the lady who loved her so much she gave her
life!
The years flew by too quickly and Amy has
grown and graduated from college and law
school. She is married with two beautiful
daughters of her own. She has known from the
earliest days when she herself was learning to
speak the word “adoption” and what it meant,
the meaning deepening as she matured. It was
always a natural part of our family life from
the earliest years forward through discussions,
conversations, story books, etc. We were very
comfortable and open about both our daughter’s
adoptions.
Knowing it was their decision to make, both
girls understood that we would be willing to
support them in looking for their birth parents
once they grew older (my choice ideally began
after college graduation). Our older daughter
indicated no interest and has remained of the
same mind-set. Amy was curious and did indicate
an interest. We had discussed pros, cons
and possible outcomes, but she had graduated
from college and was ready for the challenge.
If she was ready, then so were her father and
I! We would be there for her or assist if she
requested. There is nothing we would not do
for either of our girls.
Amy was successful in her search, and a meeting
of her birth and adoptive parents was
arranged. Attendees came from Montana,
Michigan and Texas and traveled to Amy’s
home in Ohio. I was gratified to be able to
join Amy in meeting her birth mother’s and
then birth father’s flights at the airport as they
arrived. A feeling of peace and resolution
overcame me as I felt so reassured for Amy
that the search and questions might somehow
begin to be resolved for her. From the adoptive
parents’ perspective this was such a positive
productive experience. Lots of conversations,
sharing of photo albums, questions asked and
answers received—better than anyone would
expect possible! And that lady who wrote that
letter to us as we were beginning our life with
our new baby? Yes, I really liked her just as I
suspected so many years earlier I would! She
was even able to attend Amy’s first baby’s baptism,
traveling from out of state to join our family
for the celebration!
And finally, both of our girls have grown to
be super human beings. Our older girl graduated
from college with a degree in Business
and Amy is a successful patent attorney and
outstanding mother to her two daughters. She
is still in touch with her biological mother. I will
leave it to Amy to tell that part of her story.
As adoptive parents, we can honestly state,
shout, confirm, share and brag to any and all
who will listen and put up with us: ADOPTING
OUR TWO GIRLS WAS UNDOUBTEDLY THE
SINGLE BEST DECISION OF OUR LIVES!! Our
daughters have brought us ultimate joy and
pride as well as two gorgeous loving granddaughters!
Given the opportunity, we would
do it all over again with one exception: we
would have adopted MORE children!! What
an almost magical experience it has been! How
fortunate we are!
Amy with her birth
mother, Aggie and her first child Gabriella.
The1970s
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