I became a grandmother 13 years ago last week. But here’s the thing. It’s quite likely that I might never have known that I was a grandmother. All three of my grandchildren are my son’s kids, and I relinquished him for adoption as a newborn. Without reunion, I would not know that they exist. My daughters would not be aunts. The great-grandchildren count for my mom would be halved. Adoption is a very large stone dropped into the pond of life, and the ripples just keep expanding.
Reunion always focuses on the reunion between the birthmother and adoptee. While it may be the central loss, it’s not the only loss. And the loss keeps expanding with each future generation.
I often wonder what my life would be like, had I not met my son. Less than it is right now is the rosiest answer that I can come up with.
Exactly. The ripples on the pond which never cease. The onion of layers never, ever all peeled away.
I would not have met your son and my children may not even exist. I think everything happened exactly as it should have happened.
You are educating all of us, Denise, who do not have this experience. You are opening our eyes and ears to things we might not have thought of nor imagined. Thank you.