The owner of the site is not responsible for the above banners or to the sites to which they may lead.

Reunion

Reunion

One of my favorite things to do was to visit my Nana, Marie F. Rambo. Our love was probably as strong as possible because she had been the one constant element in my life. Nana was there when my sister, Diana, and I were placed in an orphanage. She would take us home for visits whenever possible, take us to visit some of our relatives, and she was there when we were adopted into the same family as my baby brother, David. Even after the adoption, if I had a question or just wanted to visit, I could count on Nana.

Nana lived in an adult living apartment building which had security personnel and a nurse was always on duty. Her apartment was a studio apartment with a small kitchen and large bathroom which had security buzzers and security bars around the toilet and by the tub. The family felt more comfortable with her living there than a regular apartment since she had had several small heart attacks and once broke her hip. Visiting with my grandmother was usually a lot of talking about the things which were going on in our lives. We would talk about Nana’s nursing career, her health and my hopes of having a child or things which seemed important during the visit. The visits always held a lot of importance and I looked forward to them even if Nana was only up to a short visit.

In the summer of 1973, my husband, Fred, and I went to visit my Nana. It started out to be the usual type of visit except that Nana was a little preoccupied watching a baseball game. Baseball was one of my grandmother’s passions and the talking would be kept to a minimum. We would still say everything that we wanted to say but there were lulls in the conversation when her team would be up to bat. During this visit the security buzzer rang and while she was answering it I went to the bathroom so that I could get ready to go home. When I came out of the bathroom, Nana called me to one side and told me that my birth-mother, Marlene, was downstairs. Nana went on to say that Marlene was supposed to call before coming to see her just in case something like this happened. “It is up to you whether or not you wish to see her since you are over 18. If you don’t want to that is all right but I need to tell her something now.”

My emotions went on a roller coaster ride and all I could say is that I wasn’t ready yet. Nana went back to the buzzer and said that she had company and that it was a bad time for her to visit. Then Nana turned to me and asked that I postpone leaving for a little while so that Marlene had enough time to leave. I needed that time to try and get my emotions in order. After waiting about a half of an hour, we finally decided that enough time had passed and it was time to go. As we were leaving, Nana looked at me and said, “When you are ready to meet your mother, let me know and I will arrange it for you. It will be up to you and I won’t say any more about it.”

As we were driving home my emotions once again were on a roller coaster. I couldn’t believe that I said no. Then I was angry that Marlene would just turn up and I had to make such an important decision in just a few minutes. From anger to sadness for hurting Marlene’s feelings and back again. I am sure that Fred thought that I had lost my mind but control was something I did not have at that moment.

It wasn’t until August of 1975 that I called Nana and told her that I made the decision to meet my mother. Fred and I were planning on leaving Pennsylvania and I wanted have the reunion with her before we left. Although, I do not remember the actual meeting, we did meet several times before it was time to leave. It was comforting to know that our skin tones, hair and eyes were the same. Seeing so many similarities made me wonder what else we had in common but for some reason I never asked. Marlene and Nana came to my adopted mother’s house several times. Marlene had fun playing with my son, Thomas, and my newborn daughter, Jennifer. My sister, Diana, came over with her son, Richard, and we had one day when photographs were taken of all four generations. We had a great time and some lasting memories in case we never saw each other again.

After we moved from Pennsylvania, Marlene and Arnold, my step-father, came to visit us several times in Arizona. One summer they came and we spent the days swimming at a local ranch for newspaper employees. Thomas and Jennifer looked forward to the visits and were surprised when we got to go to Disneyland with their grandmother or they came for Christmas. Although the visits were infrequent they were memorable.

Marlene Elizabeth Rambo Martin Ross died in 1989 of a lung tumor and emphysema. Although the time was short and not always pleasant, Marlene has been missed and I am glad that I had a chance to know her before she died.

to My Adoption Story

If you have a question or comment, please leave me a message here. Thank you.