It is also my fathers birth month (rest in peace) and he happened to be adopted by a wonderful couple, my grandparents, after living over 10 years without a child in their lives. My father was the only one they adopted and it is an interesting story. Way back in the good ole days of the 1930's there was very little paper work involved. As a matter of fact, in my fathers case, there was next to none. My grandparents had put the word out to their friends in the community of Bath, Maine that they would be open to adopt a baby. They had a friend that worked down at the court house and one day my grandmother received a phone call saying that an eight month baby boy was just 'dropped off' and would she be interested in coming down and taking a look. She and my grandfather rushed right down to find a very healthy baby boy being doted on by all of the employees of the court house. They said yes and gathered up his few things and took him home. It was easy as that. (although I would hope that some sort of paper work was signed but I found no adoption certificate at all)
When my grandmother passed away at age 100 I found among her belongings my fathers original birth certificate with both parents listed and place of birth, several hours away from where my grandparents resided. Although my father did have the opportunity to meet his biological mother he never did meet his biological father. I have yet to investigate this avenue and I am not really sure why I am not more curious. I also found the clothes he came home in from the court house, the cute little shoes and linen coat and shorts.
That is my personal story and because of this adoption that offered me a wonderful set of grandparents I will be celebrating National Adoption Month!
Sharon
November is National Adoption Month, a month set aside each year to raise awareness about the adoption of children and youth from foster care. This year's National Adoption Month initiative targets adoption professionals by focusing on ways to recruit and retain parents for the 115,000 children and youth in foster care waiting for adoptive families.
Activities and celebrations are kicked off with a Presidential Proclamation, and while efforts made at the national level certainly help build awareness of adoption, participation in local programs, events, and activities by those of us with a direct connection to adoption can often be the most effective way to promote positive perceptions, debunk the myths, and draw attention to the tens of thousands of children in foster care who wait and hope for permanent families.
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