48 and some days ago, my parents decided to adopt a child as they were unable to have one of their own. At that time, it was quite easy to adopt a child as there were more than 75,000 children born out of wedlock during that period (I don't have the actual numbers for 1962 alone). I remember my parents telling me the story of my adoption... The nuns who were running the orphanage brought my parents 4 babies (4 babies!!!) to choose from. My father felt overwhelmed and stepped in the hallway to smoke a cigarette (hey, it was 1962!) As he walked the hallway he looked inside a window and saw me. I was crying. He took out his keys and jiggled them through the window and I stopped crying and looked at him. He went back to his wife and told her he found the child he wanted to adopt... But I wasn't up for adoption, I was dying. I was in a part of the infirmary where they waited for the children to die. I couldn't hold down anything and had lost a lot of weight.
Well, nobody could tell my Dad no! They agreed that if I lived through the night they could take me home.
Fast forward 9 years later. A week before my birthday, my Dad was faced with the inhuman task of telling his daughters that we was very sick and that we were to be very obedient and quiet for the next couple of weeks as he would need to rest a lot. He was 49.
He lost his battle with cancer when he was 50. I was 10.
I feel compelled to tell this story because I, myself, have a 9 year old, I'm turning 49 and, well, it feels like life has come full circle for me.
I'll be 49 in 4 days and I feel reborn, freed from some curse that kept me from enjoying my life to the fullest.
What an incredible story. Thank you for sharing this - it's beautiful.
ReplyDeleteYou can do whatever you want girl - it's all out there for you!