In late 1953 or early 1954, a young woman was sent to Los Angeles from Arizona. She was 24, Catholic, Hispanic, had a certificate in teaching, was an accomplished pianist – and was single. She was sent to Los Angeles either to stay with family in Los Angeles or go to a home for unwed mothers and on April 22, 1954, she gave birth to a healthy baby girl at St. Anne’s Hospital. That child was me, signed over for adoption and sent to a foster home until I could be adopted.
Talking about myself isn’t my strong suit, but the past 5-6 years have been a journey of self-discovery that culminates tonight. My wife and daughter are probably holding their breath, hoping I stay on script. My sister-in-law might be hoping for a little embarrassment to justify the drive here. My wife questioned whether I would read, memorize, or speak from the heart. Well, we’re all about to find out.
It doesn’t take long to fall in love. I remember meeting with our social worker in July of 2006 to sign final paperwork just before we would meet our daughter for the first time. William, my husband, asked about health concerns, and what our options were if there were anything inherited. We had been waiting years for this day and his question caught me off-guard. After further discussion and understanding this concern, we concluded the paperwork.
After military service in Germany (1960–1963), I traveled from New York City to California with a stop in Chicago to visit relatives. It was while in Chicago that I met Marilyn, and three years later, in 1966, we were married in California in a non-denominational church, although Marilyn was Catholic and came from a large…
For as long as we can remember, we – Megan and Joseph – have always wanted to be parents. For 8 years we worked on starting our family. Years of failed fertility treatments, multiple rounds of IVF, even surrogacy, brought on a season of grief and loss for us. We were feeling defeated, our hope…
By Lydia (Sid) Johnston Not flesh of my flesh, nor bone of my bone, but still miraculously my own. Never forget for a single minute, you didn’t grow under my heart but in it. Fleur Conkling Heyliger Julian and Jennie Sid were married after the war and in time learned they would not have biological…
Established in Hungary in May of 1923, the Sisters of Social Service, well known for their work in nursing, midwifery, and orphanage services, came to the United States later that year and founded the Sisters of Social Service in Los Angeles in 1926. HFS and the Sisters of Social Service (the Sisters) have a three-decade-long…
My connection to adoption is lifelong. My older sister is adopted, and it was such a normal thing in our family’s life that as a child, I remember thinking every family must have an adopted child in it. After our first son was born, my husband and I worked with HFS to adopt our second son, who has grown into a wonderful, mature, kind, intelligent, athletic, empathetic 23-year-old young man.