The greatest gift I have received in my life was my adoptive parents Ralph and Lucille. Amazingly, it was my birth Mom MaryAnn who gave me this gift, one I am forever grateful for. Every young woman who finds herself in this position has a choice to make, I love MaryAnn for saving my life first and foremost, and then choosing adoption when she was not prepared to care for me herself. Although open adoption was not much explored during the 1960's my adoptive parents did meet my birth Mom at the hospital when I was three days old and my parents came to take me home. MaryAnn did not want to have contact with them moving forward, so I went home with my parents and MaryAnn went back to school at Stanford. My family meant everything to me, I was a Mommy's girl and my adopted sister was a Daddy's girl. We were so lucky that Ralph and Lucille chose us, we were secure in our identity and from a young age understood that we were adopted, chosen to be part of their family. Ralph and Lucille were prepared and ready for their family which made our lives so special. Lucille once told me that she hoped we would meet MaryAnn again one day, a chance for my Mom to say thank you to the person who changed her life forever.
NOTE: Linda found her family in 1996. She never got to meet her birth mother while she was alive, but she did have the opportunity to meet her brother. She has enjoyed a relationship with him that includes travel together and meeting extended families.