What struck you most when you first met your birth family?

Marsha R

Here is an excerpt from my story -

"About a month after I met my husband (who was still my boyfriend at the time) moved in with me we decided to get a pet. We went to the pet store to look at the kitties and puppies (which we werenâ€™t supposed to have in the apartment but hey, we were already rebels). I was walking down the aisle by the fish tanks when suddenly someone yelled â€œhey there little girl, whatâ€™s your name?â€ I thought he was some pervert so I answered back â€œf- you!â€ He laughed and shouted again â€œis your name Marsha?â€ I stopped. â€œIs your name Marsha R???â€ Ahh crap he knows me. Probably some friend of my grandparents and heâ€™s going to tell them that I cussed at him. Nice. I looked at him and said â€œuhhh yesâ€¦why?â€ He stares at me for a moment. â€œDo you know me?â€ I hate when people do that. Shamefully I admitted I didnâ€™t. â€œOkay, then do you know this girl?â€ he moved and behind him was a woman crying. I started crying. Yes, yes I know her. â€œWho is she?â€ he asked expectantly. â€œThatâ€™s my mother.â€ I was secretly afraid heâ€™d say no, itâ€™s your aunt you idiot. But I knew. I hadnâ€™t seen her in years, and she hadnâ€™t seen me either, but we knew. My step dad recognized me first. I donâ€™t know how he did it, but he spotted me and told my mom that I was there. We hugged and cried for a long time. I introduced her to my husband, the poor guy Iâ€™d only known about a month who was watching this happen in the aquarium supply aisle at the pet store. Yes heâ€™s my boyfriend. Yes we live together. No I am not pregnant. No I donâ€™t have any kids. Yes I smoke. No, I only drink occasionally not often. No, I am not on drugs. Yes, I tried them. No, I am not still in school. I felt really guilty, like I was a poor representation of the way in which my grandparents had raised me. They wanted me to come back to their house, which was surprisingly only about 5 minutes from our apartment and 15 minutes from where I had lived all my life. I was an adult, on my own, and yet suddenly I was terrified at the thought of getting into a car with my own mother. I had always been warned if they tried to get me to go somewhere with them not to go, that they were trying to kidnap me back. Rationally I knew it was okay, that we were just going to talk and get to know each other, but inside I was just a scared kid who was terrified of doing something wrong.
We went to their house and walked inside. Three of my siblings were in the front room, along with a cousin, but my two youngest siblings were in their bedroom. They looked at me funny, as if they should know me but didnâ€™t. Mom asked them if they knew who I was. They said no. She told them this is your sister, this is Marsha. They looked how I felt. My sisters cried. My youngest brothers wouldnâ€™t come out of their bedroom to meet me. One faked a stomach ache. Theyâ€™d never seen me before, but had heard of me like I was some legend in a storybook. I didnâ€™t know their names. Life was a blur of meeting relatives, getting to know everyone and hearing stories about the past. They wanted me to know the truth about why I had been raised with my grandparents and why they hadnâ€™t come around all of those years. Things I had believed my entire life, things I accepted and dealt with as true, were suddenly being told to me were all a lie."

Heather B

Dont have the luxury of meeting my family - sealed records - Gack!

dory

You know, it was so overwhelmingly emotional that I don't remember the first thing I said. But my mother just smiled and said "here she is" and wrapped her arms around me.

What struck me most was just how much I wished I had been raised by her. I mean, I always thought about her and loved her and missed her but it was just all confirmed that I should have been with her when I was sitting there next to her.

PhilM

I had spoken with my birth mother on the phone. We had exchanged letters and a few small, grainy (and old) pictures.

My wife and I parked in the hotel parking lot, and I saw a few people sitting on the bench outside the main door. I knew it was them immediately. As we walked up, I got my first really good look at my mom. My first thought was, "That's her. It's obviously her. That's my mom." I knew it deep down in my bones. There was no doubt.

We hugged a very long time before we said anything, and I don't remember what we said. I just kept thinking, "I've finally found her."

Joy M

That I recognized them

ashkirkian

The midwife's hand!

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