Today, Author Rebecca Carey Lyles shares one of the most interesting and unusual adoption stories I have ever heard. I hope you enjoy this serendipitous true-life experience. Real life always is more coincidental than fiction.
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| Author Becky Lyles |
AN ADOPTION STORY byy Becky Lyle
My friend Bruce was born to parents who divorced
when he was less than two-years old. After the divorce, his birth dad, Bob
Briggs, made no attempt to see him, and his mother never spoke of her former
husband. Bruce soon forgot his father.
A couple years later, his mom married a man
named Loren Anderson and, within a year or so, became pregnant with a second
son. With the addition of another child to their family, Bruce’s mom and
stepdad decided they wanted their sons to share the same last name. Plus, they
thought life would be easier for Bruce if he had the same surname as the rest
of the family. So Loren Anderson adopted him when he was almost five-years old
and gave him the Anderson name.
One of Bruce’s earliest and best memories
is that of his step-grandmother’s reaction to his adoption. She babysat him and
his brother while their parents went to the courthouse to finalize the
adoption. When they returned and announced the good news, Bruce’s new grandma hugged
him and said, “I am sure glad to have you as part of the Anderson family!”
Bruce’s biological father was never
mentioned by his parents, and he never asked about him. After all, he had no
memory of the man. But a halftime encounter at a football game when he was a
senior in high school brought his heritage to life again. He and the rest of
the team had just come off the field and were heading into the locker room, when
a man stopped him. “You’re Bruce Anderson, right?”
Although Bruce didn’t recognize him, he
nodded. “Yes, I am.”
“I’m Bob Briggs,” the man said. “I’m your
father, and I’d like to talk with you after the game.” Bob, who lived in the
area, knew who Bruce was because his name was in the program and his number was
on his shirt. After the game, they met and talked for a few minutes, but that
was the extent of their communication.
Fast forward 22 years to the death of
Bruce’s adoptive father and Bruce’s concern about his mom, who wasn’t doing
well on her own. He began praying for a solution to her living situation. And
that’s when Bob Briggs, whose wife had died two years earlier, read about Loren
Anderson’s death in a college alumni publication.
For the first time in nearly 40 years, Bob contacted
his former wife. When he later asked her out, she called Bruce to find out how
he felt about her dating his birth dad. Bruce says the idea of his mother
dating a man he’d only met once, but who was his father, “was kind of hard to
get used to.” Yet, Bob was the answer to her loneliness and to Bruce’s prayers,
and the couple eventually remarried.
Shortly before the wedding, Bruce’s dad
told him, “It was in your best interest that I stayed away. I know how it is
with split families, how one side oftentimes works against the other. You were
better off without me in the picture.”
Bruce accepted his explanation, and he and
Bob Briggs became good friends who enjoy each other’s company. Today, as his
parents age and experience health challenges, he is more and more involved with
their caretaking.
An interesting aspect of Bruce’s adoption
history is the fact that he has two birth certifications, one dated the day of
his birth, and the other dated five years later when his “closed” (confidential
or secret) adoption occurred. Bruce’s parents didn’t keep the truth from him,
and Bob Briggs knew the details of his son’s adoption. Even so, obtaining a
passport proved to be quite a challenge for a man with two birth certificates.
Becky Lyles is the author of the two following books:
How you can contact Becky Lyles
http://www.beckylyles.com
widgetwords.wordpress.com
Facebook: Becky Lyles or Rebecca Carey Lyles
Twitter: @BeckyLyles
LinkedIn: Becky Lyles
http://www.amazon.com/Winds-
[Winds of Freedom will hopefully release soon.]
Becky Lyles is the author of the two following books:
How you can contact Becky Lyles
http://www.beckylyles.com
widgetwords.wordpress.com
Facebook: Becky Lyles or Rebecca Carey Lyles
Twitter: @BeckyLyles
LinkedIn: Becky Lyles
http://www.amazon.com/Winds-
[Winds of Freedom will hopefully release soon.]
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