Leslie's Omnibus

Drive-Bys

I've always assumed that if sunspots and solar flares are strong enough to cause magnetic poles to flip and potentially wipe out satellite and electrical grids they also dramatically affect climate. Turns out I was right.
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It's no secret I'm a birth mother, and that my daughter's adoption was arranged at a time when adoptions were closed and original birth certificates were sealed.

Illinois law will change all that come November:
Illinois Department of Public Health officials are bracing for a flood of requests in November when a new law will allow thousands of adult adoptees to obtain their birth certificates.

The law passed in
Illinois last year could give some adoptees the names of their birth parents for the first time.
I can make an argument for finally opening those doors... and I can make an argument for keeping them closed.

Women who long ago made the choice to give their child a stable home with a loving parent or loving parents did so for all sorts of reasons. Some of us kept our secret and rarely, if ever, talked about it. Some of us have been open about it from day one. I refuse to judge any of them.

Here's the thing -- if you are one of the sisterhood who made this choice, you have another choice to make:
Birth parents can remain anonymous and have their names redacted from any released birth certificate by filling out a form by Nov. 1.
I've been very, very lucky, but I can understand how this could be a difficult choice. Whatever your choice, I stand behind you.
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If the Divine Miss Marilyn were still alive, I'd have to get her the world's most expensive cat toy:


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I love it when karma works:



Next time I'm in Austin, I'm heading straight for the Alamo Drafthouse!
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Clearly Lendle listens to its users! If you're a Kindle owner, I highly recommend this free service.
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Leslie

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm Leslie's daughter and i fully agree with her. We have been very lucky to find each other. Had her choice been not to meet though, I would have understood. I can see how for some mothers it would be too much to ask them to relive painful memories. I think that it would be better instead of just opening up records to have someone contact the birthmom and see if she wants to be found.

Omnibabe said...

Thanks for those beautiful words. I wish every birth mother could be as lucky as I have been since you found me!

Mrs. Who said...

Y'all are making me smile! Not all 'reunions' are as beautiful, so y'all are very blessed. It is a very personal decision about the search...

My husband was adopted...and didn't find his birth mother till he was almost 30. She thought he had given up looking by then and respected that decision. (She was married twice after he was born but wasn't able to have any more children.) He still stayed close to his adoptive parents, but the relationship with his birth mother was beautiful! Sadly, he has lost both sets of parents in the past 5 years...and California STILL will not release his original birth certificate to him.