Good Morning Out There, this post is going to be about the letters I wrote that were published. I received a comment last night on my 3rd post that you can't view the links to my letters unless you are a subscriber to the newspaper. If you do subscribe to the Standard Times and you want to read the letters just click on the link. For those of you who don't subscribe I will summarize what I wrote, and probably add more, definitely add more. (I added a lot more.)
I've always loved the stories about my adoption. When I was a little girl, my dad would tell me how they got the call sooner than they expected, and how they had to stop and buy diapers, bottles and clothes on the way to get me from the hospital. My mom, dad, big brother and my grandmother all drove from Stephenville, TX where my grandparents lived, to Ft. Worth, TX to pick me up! My dad would say that they picked me out special from all of the babies in the hospital, of course as I grew older I realized that part of the story was a very sweet addition. When I started asking more detailed questions, my mom said that my birth mother wasn't able to take care of me, and so she gave me to a family who could. My mom also told me that being adopted was special, and that I should always be thankful, and I am.
After I grew up and had a family of my own, my dad told me how they paid for my adoption.
I was born in the evening on December 30, 1963. My parents received a phone call on New Year's Eve morning that there was a baby girl ready for them. Not expecting the call quite so soon, they had to come up with the money so that they could bring me home. I need to give you a little history here so that you get the whole picture.
My dad was a science teacher in Sudan, TX. He also drove the school bus. Sudan is a very small town close to Lubbock, TX. My dad called the banker in Sudan to request a loan, and told him that he needed the money immediately. The banker asked if he had any collateral and Dad said, "Just my name." So the banker asked my dad why he needed the money and my dad told him that they were trying to adopt a baby girl and they were suppose to pick me up on January 2.
This is my favorite part-The banker said, "Well, go and get her, We'll figure it out when you get home." Isn't that awesome, I love it! I also have an old, yellowed newspaper clipping from the Sudan newspaper telling all about the baby shower that the wonderful, gracious people gave my parents. The clipping says "Little Miss Sharla Kay, recently adopted daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Nelson, was the honoree at a shower on Saturday afternoon at the home of.....
Just writing about this makes me emotional, I've been so blessed. There is just no way to describe how thankful I am for my life. But what breaks my heart, is that you don't hear about adoption anymore, unless it's for an animal. We need to get the message out there that adoption is and should be the only other option. So many couples aren't able to have children, and want children.
Children are gifts from God, they are not a choice, they are a life. I will close this post with the last paragraph from my original letter.
When did we get so off track? How did the people in our country become so selfish that someone would design special pink tennis shoes for Wendy Davis so she could filibuster against life in the Texas Senate?
Please, God, help us bring back the people who will say, "Go and get her. We'll figure it out when you get home."
Ouch! That post touched my heartstrings! I'm Sharla's Aunt Carolyn. I too have the clipping from the Aransas Pass, TX paper that announced to the world that Mr. and Mrs. W.M. Nelson had recently adopted a baby daughter and her name was Caroline Adele Nelson. I loved reading that clipping in my scrapbook with my name misspelled. I have had people spell it that way many times in my 70 years. The whole town and neighboring towns rallied round my parents home bringing gifts and cards or sending them. (My mother would not allow the town to give us a shower. She had been postmaster and heard people complain about..."Oh dear! Another invitation to send a gift!" ) The people of our fair town didn't care. They just brought them anyway. I never knew a stranger, and that was a good thing for you never knew who was going to drop in and want to hold me and feed me my bottle.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was almost 20 years old, my mother called me at a neighbor's house to tell me that Arthur Neil and Marty had just adopted "Little Miss Sharla Kay". I was so excited I just squealed with tears in my eyes! It wasn't long before I got to hold her and feed her her bottles. What a joy! I was so proud of my brother, sister in love and nephew for adding to our family the same way my parents had added me to theirs.
We do NOT need "pink tennis shoes" in our world. We need people who are willing to do the right thing by babies they have started by seeing their pregnancy through and allowing their babies to live and be adopted to caring homes and parents yearning for a child to raise and love. THAT'S when the pink tennis shoes (or blue ones) come into play. It's for the children!
I have always been proud of being adopted. My parents were 48 years old when they got me. And they lived to see al my children to be born and I was 43 years old. Yes, 1944 was a very good year for me and my family...and so was 1963, when we were all blessed with Sharla Kay! And now I gladly join her in a pleading support of adoption. Please, save the children! Give them a chance to experience the life that has been started for them. Vote to save the children!