Transition

Gladney hosted their usual “every few months” birth panel featuring an adult Gladney adoptee, a birth mom and her mom, and a two or three adoptive couples who had adopted from there as well.

This time the birth mom was a 20-something woman who placed her little girl back in 1990. She was 16 when she gave birth and being from a small town, she told no one except her parents that she was pregnant.

The dorm was packed with residents, staff members, family and friends of residents, adoptive couples, and adult adoptees. A video production company that planned to use the presentation for adoption education was videotaping the panel this time. None of the residents’ faces were shown but their questions could be heard.

The birth mom on the panel dressed in a business suit looking much older than her 20s, talked the most and stressed to residents that they had nothing to be ashamed of as she grasped her mom’s hand. Her mom told her story next from the point of view of a parent and wholeheartedly supported her daughter.

Tara had a hard time after the panel and cried in her room. She admired the relationship the birth mom had with her mom and she wished she had one like it with her own mom.

That night the residents had the night off from cooking. Usually they cooked their meals during the week except for Friday when they ordered in. On Saturday they sometimes cooked or everyone fended for himself or herself.

Weekly a couple of residents who were in charge of cooking that particular week would go with the lead house parent to buy groceries for the meals. This was usually a lengthy venture and they would split up the list to make it go a little faster. The resident who helped get the groceries didn’t have to put them away. Instead when the van of food pulled up, the other residents helped carry the groceries from the front door to the kitchen. It was usually quite a feat to fit everything in the four refrigerators/freezers.

Tara remembered when she moved in how she’d never seen so much food in her life. It was like the Garden of Eden, she joked to herself. For the first time ever she didn’t have to worry about where her next meal was coming from.

It was an awesome feeling, one that she got to have for nine months.