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”.
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?”
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.