My Real Parents

Through the years, I have been asked a lot about my "real parents". The questions are usually pretty funny and they are always asked with curiosity. I've always answered questions like this the same, "My real parents? You've met my mom and my dad lives in Texas." That is usually followed by, "No! The people who gave birth to you!" I usually respond to this with, "My biological parents? They live in China." I don't know my biological parents and that has never really bothered me. They're the people who gave birth to me (Well, my biological mother did. xD), but my mom and dad are the ones who have taken care of me.

When I was adopted, I inherited a crazy, fun, and loving family. I wouldn't trade them for the world and if someone asked if I would trade them to know my birth parents, my answer would be a big, fat NO! My parents, are my real parents and I have never felt the need to look for my parents because I know where they are. My mom is in the living room talking on the phone and my dad is at his home in Waco. They may not have given me their DNA, but they have given me their unconditional love and support. 

The Story of Alex

I told y'all my post titles wouldn't be as catchy as the first. I guess I should start with my story. Scratch that, my mom's story. My mom was adopted too. She was adopted from Germany when she was about two. Mom's biological family history is really interesting, her mother was jewish and her father's family were pro-Hitler. Her maternal grandparents were both in concentration camps, as was her mom. After the war, my German grandmother was living with a family member. During that time period, the country was trying to rebuild. By doing that, only so many people could live in an apartment/house. My mom was the youngest and so she was put up for adoption.

Her adopted mom and dad couldn't have children. My grandfather was a high ranking officer in the Air Force. He and my grammy were stationed in Germany. They had already adopted my aunt, but they wanted another child. In the German orphanages, they dressed all the kids the same and gave them all the same haircut. My mom took to my grandfather immediately and my grandfather took to my mom immediately. He said, "That is the ugliest boy I have ever seen. He'll make for a fine son." Low and behold, my mom was a girl! By the time they started the adoption process, they already loved her and thus, my mom was adopted!

I was adopted from Wuhan, China when I was 9 months old. On the day that my mom and dad were going to meet me, mom got into some trouble. (Through these different posts you'll start to get to know my mom and this next part will make complete sense.) Mom had waited so long to have a baby and because of this she wanted to see me right away. Her and a few other moms decided to sneak into the room where the babies were. One of the nannies brought a baby over and placed her in my mom's arms. Guess what! It wasn't me!!! (Mom told me this story when I was growing up and she told me that she knew that baby wasn't her baby. She said that my grammy told her that she would have this feeling. A feeling of just knowing that this baby was her baby.) The director of the orphanage came in and shooed all the moms out. A little while later, all the parents were brought into the room. This time my nanny placed me in her arms. Mom said she knew then that I was the baby in the picture she received. (On Pearl Harbor day earlier in the year, mom received a picture of me. *Side note* Mom told me that she received two pictures from the orphanage. One was of another baby and one was of me. Mom said she chose the ugly baby. She told me that she chose the ugly baby because this method worked for her father.) While I'm not fond of being called the ugly baby, I'm glad that method worked because if it hadn't I wouldn't have the awesome family that I do have!

The first picture my mom and dad received of me. It is ridiculously small and in black and white. 

The Reason for the Season... or a Blog

My mom and dad have always told me I was adopted. Even if they hadn't told me it would have been pretty obvious, but still, I have always appreciated that they told me. I've decided to start a blog because this past year I've read more articles about adoption, watched more documentaries on adoption, and I'm a lot more interested in it. I've always known how adoption works because my mom and dad would explain it to me. Any questions I had they would answer, but this year has been different. I've wanted to find out what other adoptees feel and how they view adoption.

I've always considered starting a blog, but I was never interested enough to actually do it. Ever since I started reading more articles and watching more documentaries on adoption, I've had a lot more thoughts on adoption. This is where this blog comes into play. I figured the best way for me to share my thoughts and opinions on adoption is through a blog. As the title suggests, it's the aftermath of adoption and all my thoughts on it.

I'll be honest with you, I'll probably throw in a few random posts. Also, the title for different posts will probably never be as catchy as this one!

-Alex