Adopted Woman Looked For Her Birth Mother And Learned That She Went To Her Son’s High School
Teresa never had the opportunity to meet her birth mother. You see, she was adopted by a loving family who raised her as one of their own. It’s a good thing that she had a happy childhood. However, she could not help but feel like there was something missing even when it was time for her to start her own family… Despite everything, it was hard for her to get over that rejection in life. For most of her life, state law prevented her from looking for her birth mother. However, things changed when the law was revised. In the end, she got two surprises when she embarked on this journey. What did she learn from it?
It Still Stung
Theresa is a 47-year-old who hails from Middlebranch, Ohio. She did not know where she came from originally, however. She was given up for adoption early on and never found out who her birth mother was because the state law sealed the records. She could not help but feel different since she was young. For one thing, she did not look like her family. This has even shaped her into the person she now is. Even though she received a lot of attention and love from her family as she was growing up, she always felt like something was missing in her life. She still felt abandoned and wanted to know why her biological mother gave her up. Was Teresa not good enough to be called her daughter?
Feelings Of Inadequacy
When she grew up and matured, she started to realize that there was no reason for her to take it personally. Theresa learned that there were a lot of reasons one would choose to give up their baby. Still, it stung. She could not get over the feeling of inadequacy. It even damaged her self-esteem.
Feelings Of Inadequacy
Her adoptive mom always told her that the birth mother chose to give her up because she loved Theresa a lot. However, she did not really believe this. Among other things, Theresa wanted to know if the mystery woman thought about her after this. Did her biological mother ever regret her choice?
Piece Of News
One day, she had been enjoying her cup of Joe in the morning when something in the newspaper stood out to her. It made her heart skip a beat! There was a new law… adoptees now have the right to go to the city hall and ask for their original birth certificates. That day, she could not focus on anything else.
Piece Of News
Theresa had always dreamt of doing this all her life. Now that it has become true, she could not help but feel paralyzed. She talked to her sister Vanessa about this piece of news. We think that it was very sweet of her sibling to ask her when she planned to do this. Vanessa wanted to be there for moral support!
Not The Only One
Theresa headed for the courthouse on the first day that the law took effect. It was incredible to see that were thousands of adoptees there to send their applications. As the crowd celebrated, she saw that most people in the crowd did not look happy. It is more accurate to say that they seemed determined.
Not The Only One
She quickly realized that she was not alone. There were many people who grew up with similar inner demons. It was now their chance to put them to bed. She paid $20 for the application when it was finally her turn at the counter. She said, “I feel like I’m going to throw up.”
Sisterly Surprise
She had never once considered that her birth mother would be looking for her. Theresa had no way to know this, but she did not want to get her hopes up. After all, she knew that she might only get hurt if she kept doing that.
Sisterly Surprise
She could not imagine going through another rejection, which is why she suppressed all those thoughts in the past. However, she would soon get a pleasant surprise when it comes to that. It turns out that Vanessa had already been doing some investigating herself while Theresa was waiting for the arrival of the birth certificate. What did she find out?
A Nice Surprise
Vanessa knew that this was a big deal for Theresa, which is why she chose to do even more than just be there for her. She went to the local adoption website and looked up the birth date of her sister. She did not inform Theresa of what she was doing because she wanted to avoid getting her hopes up.
A Nice Surprise
However, she found a nice surprise! She found Theresa on the website. This meant that her biological mother registered it herself. This was a pretty good indicator that she wanted to find her daughter.
Learning Her Name
Vanessa then invited Theresa over and asked her to sit down. She then revealed the name of her birth mother! A tear rolled down her cheek as the huge psychological burden lifted off her shoulders. The two of them decided to look for the woman on social media. However, they did not have any luck there.
Learning Her Name
At that point, Theresa did not even care that much. For her, knowing something about her biological mother satisfied her somewhat. It was almost enough to satiate her. Almost.
Digging Even Deeper
They worked on some digging and found out where her birth mother went to high school over 40 years earlier. It was not all that surprising to learn that it was a local school. However, what was surprising about this was that they knew someone else who went to this school. It was someone close to Theresa!
Digging Even Deeper
It was also someone who knew this school very well and had access to the library there. It meant that he could look up the records of old students! Vanessa and Theresa looked at one another. They could not believe the twist of fate they had stumbled into.
What A Small World
Who could we possibly be talking about? It was actually none other than Theresa’s very own son. He still went to school there! In the same evening, she asked him if he could possibly take a look at some old yearbooks. It was a good thing that he did not mind at all. The following day, Theresa made the drive with Jimmy, her husband.
What A Small World
They then found themselves sitting the library at the school. A pile of yearbooks was lying on the table in front of them. Theresa plastered on a big smile to hide her nerves.
Her Husband Supported Her
What did she find in these yearbooks? Did she see her mother there? Did the two of them look anything alike? She went through all the black and white photographs in the pages without a clue as to what she would find there. They were not only looking for a photo. In essence, Theresa was looking for a missing part of her!
Her Husband Supported Her
Jimmy stayed beside Theresa the entire time. He held her hand through it. He understood that this was important to her. However, he could not help but worry. What if she did not like what she found?
Like A Mirror
It was at the bottom of the 45th page from a 1975 yearbook that she found her mother. Theresa had no clue that a photo could affect her so much. The girl in this photograph sported a blonde bob haircut and a practiced smile. She was called Chris.
Like A Mirror
Theresa could not help but feel as if she were looking at a photo of herself! There was undeniable resemblance there. They did not only have the same nose, eyes, cheekbones, and teeth. They even had the same hairstyle! She said, “I think she was adorable.”
Looking For Answers
Both Vanessa and Jimmy were worried, however. Theresa was acting like a hound on the hunt. They could not help but wish that she would take a moment to consider that she might not like what she would find. They might know her name and appearance, but they did not know this woman.
Looking For Answers
Theresa finally had the chance to look for something that was missing for such a long time. Would she be better off without this? For her, it did not matter. She was so sick and tired of not being in the dark.
The Birth Certificate
This was the reason that Vanessa, who was an adopted daughter as well, decided not to go looking for her own parents. “Once you go there, you can never go back,” she explained. She felt concerned about the happiness of her sister. As for herself, she did not feel the same inclination to discover her past.
The Birth Certificate
At last, the original birth certificate Theresa requested arrived. The two sisters sat together and held the envelope. However, Theresa could not get herself to open the package. Vanessa decided to do it for her.
They Understood Her
Vanessa was about to rip it open when her sister stopped her. It seems like it was too big of a leap for Theresa. She decided that she first wanted to contact a support group for adoptees. She did not want to feel alone, so it might help if she heard what other people had to say about her situation.
They Understood Her
Theresa attended the group meeting and sat down with people with similar circumstances. She felt better after talking to them during the season. After all, they understood where she was coming from.
A Similar Situation
The group took turns to talk about their experiences as they sat in a circle. Theresa sat there, holding her envelope the whole time. She could feel her nerves acting up as her turn to speak came. She had no obligations to open the package, but she had already started thinking of this moment as her deadline.
A Similar Situation
Even though she felt nervous, she started feeling braver as well. She listened to what the other adoptees had to say and took comfort in the fact that she was not alone.
Spacing Out
Theresa could not hear a single word when the man right beside her started to speak. She was nervous because she knew it would be her turn as soon as he was done sharing his story. The only thing she had been in mind was the countdown clock. The envelope started to feel heavy in her hands.
Spacing Out
She got lost in her thoughts as she recalled all the fantasies she had in the past. She always dreamt about getting reunited with her mother back then. When the applause came, it was finally her turn.
Something Unbelievable
She could not speak. Theresa knew that once she began to talk, she might come up with an excuse to avoid opening her envelope. This is the reason she lifted it up, ripped the corner, and then opened it with her nail. She would later think it was funny that she felt so overwhelmed by a piece of paper.
Something Unbelievable
She held out her original birth certificate and then looked at it. What she found there made her do a double-take. What was so unbelievable about it?
An Incredible Coincidence
The other people in the group stayed quiet as she did this. They knew that Theresa had just done something important for herself. However, they were all very curious now. They asked her what it was that she saw on the piece of paper.
An Incredible Coincidence
Theresa informed them about it. Her birth mother actually gave her the name Theresa! It was the same name the adoptive mother gave her. There was no contact between them, so it was only a coincidence.
The Next Step
What did Theresa have to say about it? “I’m a person of faith and I think this is totally God’s plan,” she said. According to her, this must be a sign from God. Perhaps it meant that she had always been the person she was meant to be. “It’s proof that I’m real,” she said as she looked at the aged piece of paper in her hands.
The Next Step
She had already taken that first plunge, so it was not all that hard for her to take the following step. She had to search for a phone number and make an important call. It was time for her to get in touch.
What To Say
Her husband had been standing beside as she made the call. Theresa felt more confident now. The phone rang and someone answered. She already planned out what she was going to say to the person at the other end of the line!
What To Say
“Hi Chris, how are you?” she said. “I didn’t know if you were aware but they just opened adoption records in Ohio, and I actually just opened my birth certificate yesterday.” However, her voice started to crack when she got on with the part after this one.
Contact At Last
“The birth mother on my records is Christine, and I’m pretty sure that I’m the person that you’ve been looking for for a while,” she continued.
Contact At Last
You should know that the person on the other end was a woman who had been separated from her daughter for nearly five decades by then. Hearing this was heartbreaking. “My daughter, my daughter,” she said. “I just wanted you to know that I never wanted to give you up.” Theresa had no idea what to say to that in return!
Meeting Up At Last
“I just wanted to make sure it was OK that I called you,” Theresa said. What did Chris have to say about that? “Oh for heaven’s sake,” replied her birth mother, “I’ve been looking for you for years!”
Meeting Up At Last
Theresa could not help but laugh at that. She felt like a new person! They agreed to meet up. As Theresa made her way to the house of her birth mother, there was still one thing on her mind. Why did her mother choose to give her up?
Their Emotional Reunion
Chris had a gorgeous house in the suburbs of a city not far from where Theresa lived. She saw a big red car and a manicured lawn. She parked her car in the driveway and found Chris waiting for her. The air around them was emotionally charged as they approached one another.
Their Emotional Reunion
Chris held her face, the first time she got to do so in 47 years. Theresa exclaimed, “You’re real, you’re real!” The two embraced for a long time. They could not help but compare hands, faces, and heights.
Talking About The Past
The two of them sat down and talked. Theresa began to get the answers she had been looking for all those years. She even learned the answer to something she was scared to ask. Did her mom ever want her?
Talking About The Past
It turns out that Chris had only been 17 years old when she got pregnant with Theresa. In those days, it was frowned upon to be an unmarried mother. Even worse, her relationship with her high school sweetheart, Theresa’s birth father, fell apart. Chris went to a home for unwed mothers when she was four months pregnant and stayed there until she gave birth to her daughter.
Closure At Last
She did not even get the opportunity to hold her child in her arms before the nurses took Theresa away from her. According to Chris, not a day passed by that she did not think about the daughter she had to give up. She spent decades looking for her. As a matter of fact, she even induced the birth of her younger child when she noticed that it was possible for him to be born on the same day as Theresa’s birthday! She wanted to avoid this since it was her only link to her firstborn child.
Closure At Last
Not long after the touching reunion between Chris and Theresa, Vanessa decided that it was time to look for her birth mother as well. She was clearly inspired by the happy ending that her sister got after all these years. We hope that she has a similarly happy ending as well.