The pregnant women who came to St. Vincent”s needed privacy, confidentiality, medical care and compassionate understanding as they awaited the birth of their babies. Some, only in their teens or twenties, bore the stigma of the unwed mother. Others were married women who could not afford medical care or hospitalization – the stigma of poverty. I was told that my mother could not handle twins and chose to place us up for adoption. In the 1950’s, the only placement available was foster homes or closed adoption.

From different stories I was told it appeared that my biological mother came to the orphanage to give birth to my twin brother and me. She decided to place us into this foster home because she could not financially or emotionally care for us. Parts of her adoption plans were: 1) my brother and I would not be separated from one another; 2) she could choose our names; 3) she wanted us to be placed in a good home; and 4) she did not want us to know that we were adopted. She also wanted a closed adoption. This probably was the best way she could deal with her decision and hide this from her husband, her other children and the rest of her family. I understood she was alone in this decision and adoption plan.

When my adoptive father came to this orphanage, the plan was to be foster parents. As he laid eyes on us, he fell in love immediately. However, my adoptive mom only wanted one child. I am so glad he made the final decision.

My dad came out with both of us in his arms and said to her “I want them.” He was so happy!

My parents were in their 50’s when they brought us in to their home. They loved us as their own. I suffered from detachment disorder. This is one of the reasons it is so important that parents bond with their babies, either a biological or an adoptive mother, within the first 6 months of life. I could not accept it when my parents left me, for I cried endlessly whenever they left for a long period of time. At the age of 12, we found out we were adopted from a kid, being mean, in our neighborhood. We didn’t understand what this all meant for many things were not discussed with children in those days. After our parents explained our situation to us, it really did not affect us. We knew how much we were loved. The full story did not come out until we were older. 

We were in their home all of our lives; we lived a good life in a safe environment. We traveled, went to private schools and enjoyed our childhood and early adulthood. We lived in a strict home with strong moral values. While we were not given everything we wanted, we certainly got everything we needed. At the age of 18, we were given the choice to be legally adopted and obtain their last name or keep our birth names.

My brother played the clarinet, served in the military, got married and had 2 sons, who blessed him with 2 grandchildren. I went to modeling school, business school, worked as a cosmetologist, got married and had one son. In marrying Mason, I adopted his daughter and love her as my very own.