Adoption Support Group

My mother was adopted. She died not knowing who she was. Her foster parents were a mixed bag -- both of them alcoholics.

Being my mother had many issues, there was abuse aplenty to be taken from her.

It has been a sad/sick life for me.

I found out who Mother was a few years ago after she passed away. Her "real" family was connected to the people that adopted her.

Big deal is all I can say.

I'd never adopt a child personally but that is because of my own experiences being raised by an abusive parent that bared the scars of an adoption that was a damn mess. :(

I'm an adoptive parent, and to respond to the original post, I'll just say that since DS is for support groups the majority of posts are from people looking for support, I think there are lots of adopters and adoptees out there with wonderful experiences that just don't have the need to seek out a support group.
My daughter is still only 4 months old but so far the experience has been amazing. I didn't know anyone who had been adopted, so it was a brand new experience for me.
Of course since she is still a baby I have no idea how she'll feel about the adoption when she's older.
I'd be glad to share my experience with you and answer any questions you may have.
Good look as you begin this process :)

Thank you Heidiuo! We're actually well into the process by now. We've been waiting with our agency for a little over 4 months. Most of my initial intimidation is gone now. We'll be honest with our child. We're adopting in an honest way, from people who are selecting us, and will have an ongoing relationship with our child. We'll do the best we can, just like any parents.

Your daughter is precious. How long was your wait?

We are in the process of adopting our beautiful daughter from foster care. We have had her since pretty much birth and I love her like I am her birth mother. I do not care that she is not made of me and my husband, I love her just because. We plan on being honest with her why she was adopted in age appropriate words. As she gets older we will not hold anything back from her. We plan on keeping it a somewhat open adoption as long as biomom is "healthy" . Our daughter will have the option to connect with biomom through internet at anytime she wants. Hopefully this will answer some of the questions she has and give her a sense of where she came from. She will know at a very early age that she wasn't just given up and that her bio loved her very much but just couldn't care for her at the time. That she loved her so much that she knew we could give her a better life. But not to sugar coat anything to the point where she wonders why she had to be adopted...I think it will be a learning experience as we go along.

We are in the process of adopting 3 beautiful children (twins-a boy and a girl almsot 2 years old) we've had them since they were 3 days old, and then their 5 year old sister. They are amazing kids, though the 5 year old does have some issues that are pretty hard to deal with I would not change it for anything, they are my kids. My Husband and I cannot wait to adopt them. Adoption is a wonderful thing and even though adoptive kids grow up and want to know their Bio family doesn't mean that they don't love you and appreciate you for raising them. It is a wonderful thing no matter how hard it is, it's so worth it.

I should say that we are adopting through foster care so it's a little more stressful with the ups and downs but totally worth it.

I'm 53 and was adopted at birth. From the time I could speak I knew I was adopted and grew up with the knowledge. When you are a kid, you don't think about things too much and I often embarrassed my parents by proudly telling anyone who would listen that I was adopted! To me, my adopted parents are my true parents. Like any marriage and family, there were ups and downs and my parents divorced when i was 13. My adopted parents always treated me well and I really can't say anything bad about them...they did the best they could.
As I got older I began to wonder about my birth mother/father and managed to get a copy of my original birth certificate before Pa. sealed the adoption records (terrible move!!). I found my birthmother's name (father was unknown) but have never seen or spoken to her. I'm sure she had her reasons to give me up at the time and there is not a trace of ill will in my feelings towards her. I do have a desire to at least see her, not necessarily meet her...I think everyone needs to know their roots. My adopted parents are supportive of my questions regarding my origins and have provided me with as much info as they had, which wasn't too much as I was adopted thru Catholic Charities and info wasn't shared.
Several years ago, my father's 2nd wife was dying of terminal cancer and I spent most of the summer in Miami. My father was very successful and lived in a mansion along "Millionaires Row" with the Gibb Brothers living on one side of our home and huge estates all along the row...all on the wide bay of Miami. Miami is deserted during the summer and I took our 27 ft boat out daily, since I had little else to do and couldn't go away for long. I would go to the port of Miami and see people living under the bridges. That is when it struck me just how fortunate I was! I had the life of Riley, but started off with less than most of these people living in the streets and bridges. No matter what happens in my life, I am grateful for the upbringing my adopted parents gave to me.
I know that not all adoptions go this well, but if you have the chance to selflessly give a better life to a adopted child, you will be a better person for it and have the gratitude of that child for life...even if it doesn't seem that way all of the time.

I am adopted and I had a very good life with my adoptive parents. I wouldnt change a thing. I have always said that the people who raised me were my real parents. Not a day went by where I ever wished my birth mother had raised me. The only thing I was ever bitter about was the fact I was raised an only child. I hated being so alone as a kid growing up.

I knew I was adopted from day 1, my parents never hid that from me. I think some bitterness comes from not finding out until you are older. Some kids dont find out til they are in their teen years and I think thats wrong. I was always aware of who I was and where I came from.

Well, I know that even though my husband is curious about learning about his biological family, he LOOOOOOVES his adoptive family. We even plan on someday adopting a child of our own.