Blood of My Blood and Adoption
If you were adopted would you feel your family was missing something?
Blood of My Blood is a term used to describe family, your family. Your blood kin, people who share your DNA. Sure your spouse doesn’t share your DNA but any off-spring connects you. Blood is thicker than water. But what about adoption? That is what my wife asked me when we were discussing my grandson who looks just like my son and really me at that age. A clone of a clone of a clone! She asked if I felt shorted because I was adopted. I share no DNA with my surname. All the family history of my ancestors is and isn’t part of my history.
Blood of My Blood
When I hear that quote, the first thing that comes to mind is Jamie Frazer in the TV series Outlander. It does have some historical ties to the Celtic blood oath.
“Blood of my blood, and bone of my bone, I give ye my body that we two might be one, I give ye my spirit ’til our life shall be done”
This Celtic blood oath may have roots in the Bible.
“The man said, ‘This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man’”.
Genesis 2:23
My Adoption
I’ve known I was adopted for as long as I can remember. I once asked my mom when she told me and she said ‘From the day we brought you home’. She said she would rock me and tell me how much she loved her adopted baby boy. So I never had the core-shaking event of learning I was adopted. Thank God! My mom got that one right!
Finding My Birth Parents
I did have the opportunity to find both of my birth parents. I knew my birth mother was a cousin of my adopted mother, so I guess there is some shared DNA after all.
My interest in finding my birth mother was really just to send her a letter thanking her for giving me such a blessed life and assure her that she made the right choice.
After meeting my birth mother, she told us who my birth father was and I wrote a similar letter, although not as kind or concerned. The letter was basically identifying my birth mother and informing him if he ever wondered, my life was great. He and his wife did reach out and I met them also.
Nature versus nurture
In talking with both my birth parents I did identify some inherited traits. It was interesting to find some of my habits like my love of travel and adventure came from them. My dyslexia did too.
Love is Everything
After a half-century of only knowing one set of parents, and then meeting my birth parents, I learned love is more important than blood. Family is family and they all look different but if there is love then it is family.
I was blessed to have been adopted by two parents who loved me more than any child could ever expect. I guess in a way adopted parents make a choice and have to go through a lot of trouble to have a child.
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