6. Two moms are better than one
When Miss Louisiana Candice Stewart was 26 years old she knew she was different from everyone else in her family and demanded they tell her what was going on. After they explained where she came from, Stewart called the adoption agency the very next day and began the process to get her adoption records with the hope of someday getting to meet her birth mother.
“I know that 26 years have passed so I put it in a book for you,” said Stewart to her birth mother when they were reunited on the show Searching For… on the Oprah Winfrey Network. They tearfully flipped through the pages of Stewart’s life, from her baby pictures, first steps, and birthday parties of years passed. Memories that her adopted mother was sure to catch.
“I always wanted to know what you looked like,” Stewart’s birth mother said as they hugged on the couch. “I’m sorry,” she sobbed. “It’s okay because we’re here now,” Stewart responded as she continued to hug her mother.
Stewart went on to share a message from her adoptive mother. “My mom said to tell you to thank you for the 26 years and she wants you to be a part of our lives,” said Stewart. “You birthed me, you loved me enough to make an unselfish decision, we were separated and we’re together, and I have two moms.” Stewart recognizes that some people don’t even get one, but she is blessed to have two.
7. This day is special
Imagine being 14 years old and having a baby. “I was just a baby myself,” said Jennifer Stuart, as she spoke of the day 23 years prior when she put her baby up for adoption. She nervously stood at Six Flags in Arlington, Texas awaiting her daughter’s arrival until finally, the daughter she’d been anxiously waiting to meet came running toward her.
Stuart and her biological daughter Christina Weissenborn shared an emotional embrace as spectators applauded their special moment. “I’m so glad you’re okay,” Stuart told her daughter before the two spent the day at the park, laughing, riding rides, and enjoying each other’s company. “This is a new beginning, a new beginning for both of us. And I will never let her go again, ever,” said Stuart.
8. Now your sunshine will never go away
At only 14 years old, Laurie Roberts was a victim of date rape and after conceiving and giving birth to a baby girl, Julie Mercer, she gave her up for adoption. “It’s just a fairytale, the fact that she wanted to find me as much as I wanted to see her,” said Roberts.
Roberts and Mercer were able to reconnect after 32 years and immediately started learning their similarities, from favorite colors to college majors and taste in music. They finally met in person for the first time in front of 20,000 people in Houston, Texas.
“Before we go,” said Mercer, “I want to say to Laurie, or sing to Laurie, the very last thing she ever said to me at this moment.” Mercer began singing “You Are My Sunshine” before Roberts was handed a microphone to sing along.
9. It was truly a family reunion
“I’m nervous, I’m excited, I’ve waited 50 years for this moment,” said Cindy Burns as she walked down the hall to finally meet her birth mother who gave her up for adoption at ten months old in South Korea in hopes of her having a better life in America.
Burns even traveled to South Korea the previous year in hopes of finding her birth mother, but when her search came up short, she was coming to peace with the fact that it might never happen. Then she received a DNA test that confirmed who her biological mother was and that she lived on the west coast — they had actually been in the same country for decades.
They shared a tearful reunion and as they spoke with CBS News their hands were glued together. Burns not only got to meet her biological mother, but also her sisters and brother as well. It was truly a family reunion. “It’s what all of us who are adopted want is for our existence to be validated,” said Burns, “and to know that our parents loved us.”
10. It’s the best thing that’s happened to me
At 14 years old, Lena Pierce gave birth to a baby girl named Eva May. Six months later, the state took her baby away, saying Pierce was too young to have a child. Eva May was adopted and grew up on Long Island under the name Betty Morrell. While her adoptive parents did confirm that she was adopted, they claimed her birth mother passed away when she was a baby, a lie to keep her from searching her out.
In 1966, Morrell began actively searching for her birth mother. “I know I was loved and had a wonderful family. There was that missing link. It just kept driving me,” she told ABC News. With the help of her granddaughter, Morrell connected with one of her sisters, Millie Hawk, and eventually also her mother. Morrell speaks of the moment reconnecting with her mother as “the best thing that’s happened to me.”
It took 50 years of active searching, 82 years apart, but they finally found each other. “My life is complete at this point,” Morrell said.
Credits: thelist.com
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