In early 1969, me and my girlfriend discovered we were pregnant. She was 17 and going to high school; I was 19 and a high school graduate working as a laborer. My parents had a meeting with her parents at their home. Her mother took control as my parents were not in a position to say much. She decided her daughter would be sent away, have the baby, give it up for adoption, and no one would be any wiser…
My Heart is Overflowing (Part 2) - an adoptee's adoption story
My heart is full to overflowing with the love I have for the people in my life that I call my family.
My story starts September 7, 1969.
I was born at Grace Hospital in Calgary, Alberta. When I was seven weeks old, I was adopted. From my earliest memories, I knew that I was deeply loved, cared for and wanted by my new family...
In 1999, my Dad Levi passed away from cancer, and in 2002 we lost my wonderful husband Pedro to cancer. As I grieved the loss of these wonderful men in my life, I also realized that each year that passed by, there was the possibility that one of my birth grandparents or one of my birth parents might pass away, forever closing the possibility of ever meeting...
I had tears in my eyes the first time my Mom got to meet my Dad, Bill. She hugged him and said, “thank you for my daughter,” and my Dad said, “thank you for raising my daughter”.
My Heart is Overflowing (Part 1) - an adoptive sister's adoption story
“I am so thankful for my sister Nancy Jane. She turned 50 this September. She has been my sister for all but 7 weeks of those years... I have no memories of being an only child. And no real memories of the day they brought Nancy home to live with us. It seems I have always had a sister to love, to fight with, to play with and to enjoy life together...”
Not the End of My Story — an abortion experience
“Following my first year of university, I accepted an offer to work at a fishing camp in northwest Ontario with another U of M student.The night before they were to leave the camp, one group of younger fisherman invited the two of us to come to a campfire they were having that night. We ignored the earlier warning from the camp owners not to socialize with that group and off we went. What could go wrong?”
Could We Love Her? — a story of Down syndrome
“After the doctor looked her over, he came to the bed and told us he was 99% sure she had Down syndrome. I remember thinking, how am I going to love this baby? How am I going to look at her and find her beautiful? We didn’t know anything about Down syndrome or special needs kids. I didn’t know how to interact or anything like that. It was so foreign, and I was scared to be her mom... I just saw a little girl with no future. That’s really what I saw…”
I'm Pregnant... — a story of adoption
“I’m pregnant.” Yes, the words most parents dread to hear coming from their 17-year old. I chose to let my parents know by way of a handwritten note as I was too scared and panic stricken to speak to them face-to-face. This was the toughest thing I have ever had to share with them. This was the beginning of a long journey of guilt, shame, secrecy, embarrassment, and fear.