We all have a story...what's yours?

Don't we all have a story? Yet, when one is connected to adoption, that story seems to have an even greater importance. It is OUR VERY OWN story. And many of us who have yet to find or are unable to find birth families - that may be all we have. We carry these stories around cupped gingerly in our hearts and hands like a injured bird. When others ask about our connection to adoption, we hold our gift out carefully and hope it will be looked at and listened to with respect, love, and understanding. So many people have offered their stories to me while I have been here and I feel grateful to hear them.

Yesterday, while listening to the raw and very honest Keynote speech of Joe Eszterhas and his daughter, Suzanne Perryman, I noticed two women behind me. They were wrapped in each others' arms, crying and consoling each other. Their bond immediately spoke to me and I felt such love coming from them. Cindy held Sarah tightly while Sarah dabbed her eyes with a tissue. The speech seemed to be hitting them and both were listening to every word with such attention. When Joe Eszterhas said, "This is the daughter who I abandoned, but who will never abandoned me," I felt my heart skip and heard slightly louder sobs come from Sarah. After the speech, I asked the women their relation. Cindy told me she was Sarah's birth mother. They spoke of their recent reunion and a possible reunion with Sarah's birth dad as well as how they have enjoyed getting to know each other in this journey. Their story seemed just beginning.

Stories of people fighting tirelessly for the legislation to get adoptees their original birth certificate. Stories of birth moms coming out to their families about the child they gave up for adoption. Stories of adoptive parents asking - why does my child need to know?

Last night's movie, Adopted, really brought my own story back to me. I'll admit that I was hit hard by Jennifer the adult adoptee in the movie. She was me and I was her and I lost myself in her struggle for validation. Instantly, I connected with her and cried for my own desire to be validated. When Jennifer said, adoptees are chameleons because they don't want to be abandoned again, I related to that in such a deep and painful way. Yet, it was when she explained, if my family would just acknowledge my identity, then I would know they adopted me not an idea that hit me like an emotional train. Sobs poured from me for the first time in years.

What stories have been gifted to you at the conference?