Tag: adoption

A plea to Tom’s mother

Back in January, Tom’s birth mother said that she would be willing to receive a letter from Tom. “But don’t expect any response,” she told Lauren, the social worker at the agency who is our liaison. Tom struggled with how to write to her. How to thank her for enduring such a difficult experience, and not … read more A plea to Tom’s mother

A birthday like no other

It’s getting so late. They were driving from Dulles and they should have been here by 7 p.m. Tom and I hardly know what to do with ourselves while we wait. This meeting has been more than five months in the making: Tom’s biological father, Richard, and sister, Danielle. Richard’s cousin Susan in England, our initial … read more A birthday like no other

Big and beautiful

The land came to us in waves of mountains, crests of forests, embracing us as we moved across it. I drove and drove and drove. More than eight hours of driving, through North Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and finally Virginia, to the place where Tom’s birth parents met. Although we were on interstate freeways, the … read more Big and beautiful

The mother of Mother’s Day

I was up late last night, pondering the meaning of Mother’s Day. I learned this, from National Geographic: It all started in the 1850s, when West Virginia women’s organizer Ann Reeves Jarvis held Mother’s Day work clubs to improve sanitary conditions and try to lower infant mortality by fighting disease and curbing milk contamination, according to … read more The mother of Mother’s Day

The mother in Virginia

Fifty-two years ago today, a teenage girl in Richmond, Virginia gave birth to a healthy baby boy. She knew he would never again see her smiling at him, or hear her voice say “I love you.” She gave him a name, knowing that he would never use that name. And then she let him go. Today, on … read more The mother in Virginia