‘I feel like you’re supposed to be her mom.’ Her voice was shaky. ‘Are you sure?’: Adopted woman insists her adopted daughter is ‘not broken,’ although adoption is ‘beautifully broken’

“I can’t imagine what must have been going through her mind. ‘I heard you were wanting to adopt,’ she said. ‘I have a 2-month-old little girl.’ Speechless. How could this be real? ‘Mira, I wanted to call you sooner, but I didn’t know how to say it.’ My husband was away on a 2-week rotation with the Navy. Without hesitation he responded, ‘go get her.’ You go get our baby.’ So, I did.”

‘They lost touch. But he remained very dear to my dad, and years later, Dad asked if I could try to find him on the internet. I tried, but had no luck. Part of me was a bit relieved.’

“At the top of his planner was a name I didn’t recognize. I called. ‘Hello sir, my name is Sarah. I’m the daughter of Eugene. He has you here in his phone book but I’m not sure how you know him. Are you from his days in New Jersey?’ At that moment, my memory came back, and I could feel the surge of emotion in me.”