This is the story of my mother - Donna Rose. Actually, it's the story of how she came into my life.
When I was born, my mother was just 17 - and as much as she wanted to keep me, she decided it was best for me to put me up for adoption. Probably one of the hardest decisions of her life. But she never forgot me.
I grew up always knowing I was adopted, and always wondering - what she was like, where she was, why she did it. And when I was old enough, I decided to find out. And ran into a brick wall. In the state I was given up for adoption, they still keep their records sealed. It would have taken a court order to open it. The adoption agency was able to give me "non-identifying" information: height, weight, hair color, etc. That only succeeded in piquing my .curiosity even more.
My only other option, it seemed, would be to hire someone to help me - something I couldn't afford. And then I heard of a non-profit reunion registry that might be able to help. I filled out the paperwork and sent it off, and for several weeks anxiously checked my mail, and jumped whenever the phone rang. But after a month or two, I pushed it to the back of my mind.
And then one day, about six months later, I got a phone call from my mother-in-law while I was at work. Someone from the registry wanted me to call them collect. It took a few minutes for it to register. I placed the call and listened in disbelief while I was told they thought they had a match. After verifying the information I'd given them, they told me where she lived - which turned out to be only 40-some miles from where I lived. I made arrangements to call her that evening.
On my way home from work that night, one thought kept running through my head - "I'm going to talk to my mother." I spoke with her for almost an hour, and two days later met her for the first time. That was almost two years ago, and we've become very close. It is incredible how much we are alike - looks, mannerisms, feelings. Here's a picture taken the day we met. Can you tell she's my mom?
One of the things we share is a love of poetry. So I want to share some of her poetry with you, too.
The following are poems we wrote to commemorate the day we got the phone call that brought us together:
Click here for more of my mom's poetry
If you're interested in reading more about adoptions and reunions, here's a good place to visit (Soundex is the agency that reunited my mother and I): International Soundex Reunion Registry Sign My Guestbook 
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