I Have A Say Thanks to My Mom and Dad!!!

Being the oldest of 11, I am so thankful, especially now, for my Mom and Dad saying "yes" to life! Growing up, we never had a ton of money. My Dad was a high school chemistry teacher and my parents decided from the beginning that they wanted to have one of them home with us. My mom gave up her teaching career, and raised me, followed by 10 others! My Mom also taught all 11 of us at home for part of our childhood before we would head off to Nativity Catholic Grade School. My Dad worked long hours, eventually earning other degrees so that he could first become dean, then principal, and finally, when I was a sophomore, he was named Roncalli High School's first president. My Dad and Mom both sacrificed SO MUCH for us.

I remember, even as a young person, getting stared at by people, and I remember the comments they would make. I can still hear a dental receptionist asking my Mom "Are these all yours? You know how children are made right?" followed by a real insidious but ditzy chuckle, followed by a secretarial gum crackle. My Mom and Dad were always tight budget wise, and I'm sure at times ached with a desire to not have to take bags of clothes from other families so that we could have clothes. I'm sure my Mom and Dad had desires to simply go to Nordstrom and buy us and give us all our own new clothes and Gameboys and Reebok Pumps etc. I'm sure they at times really wished they could just get a new car and not have to drive a fifteen passenger van around. I'm sure at times they wanted really badly to just go to a restaurant and sit back and enjoy a big expensive meal instead of having to cut coupons and craft together economic meals on the stove.

But they chose life for us, and they chose sacrifice for themselves.

I often think about that ditzy secretary now when our family gets together almost every weekend for dinner to laugh and hang out. Some of the siblings might be out of town or busy with other obligations, but inevitably, all weekend long, every weekend, our family gets together. Sometimes, when we're out at a restaraunt, I see the couples who are alone with each other. They hardly talk to each other and the loneliness is palpable. A part of me feels bad that we're having so much fun with our 8 tables shoved together, telling stories, laughing good hearty and healthy laughs. Sometimes I wonder if one of the couples sitting in the restaurant quietly and solemnly is that dental secretary - who now has piles of money and can eat wherever she wants, but doesn't have hardly anyone to share it with. My heart breaks for the people who are alone, especially the ones who are alone because, when they could have been having children, they instead bought into the contraception lie and lived for themselves only.

I have a say today, and so do my ten younger brothers and sisters, because my parents chose life. Mom and Dad - thanks a million!!!

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Clare Osecki - Having a Say as an Adopted Child

Thanks to my birth parents, 19 years ago, I myself was given the opportunity to Have a Say. One thing I’ve always known throughout my 19 years of life is I am adopted. This is something I have known for as long as I can remember. I’ve always gotten many interesting reactions when friends learn I’m adopted. I’ve gotten big hugs, “I’m so sorry,” tearing up, and even comments about how you never know what you’re going to get with adopted kids, but I turned out alright. Not once did I consider it something as negative in any way. I looked at it with the view that I was given the amazing opportunity to live a comfortable life that my birth parents did not think they could provide for me. I have a wonderful family that I love with my whole heart and great friends whom I would do anything for.
My birth mother was 19 years old when she became pregnant with me. I cannot tell you a detailed account of how my birth mother and father met, nor can I tell you much about their situation, for these are things I may never completely know or understand myself. Despite the many questions about the situation they were in and what drove them to make the decision they made I know one very important thing; my birth mother and father had a say in me being able to be here today. My birth parents were my age when they made a choice. In that moment my life was in her hands. They took responsibility for the actions she made knowing they had their consequences.  They chose life.
One thing I think many people fail to realize is without generations before us saying yes to life, none of us would be here. I don’t think I will ever be able to fully understand when someone’s unborn life became no more than the “choice” of mothers. It is so distressing to me that anyone could look at the life they now have, knowing that their very own mothers once had a “choice” and still deprive unborn children the right to one day have a say, to one day be able to make a difference. Now, I don’t personally know Cecile Richards or anyone else actively a part of Planned Parenthood's campaign. Their motives for what they are doing are honestly no concern of mine. What I do know, however, is their parents had a “choice” much like the one they are advocating today. We were all once nothing more than a heartbeat and a pulse within our mother’s womb. That “choice” that your mother once made could have been the difference between you having life and you being nothing more than just a “choice” that was once made.
Thank you, mom, for choosing life. Thanks to you, I now Have a Say.
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1 comment:

  1. AnonymousFebruary 28, 2012 at 3:10 PM

    Very beautiful words. I hope my grandaughter who was placed for adoption 11 years ago will feel the same way about about her birth mother. Though it was the most difficult decision to place her for adoption there is never a day that goes by that she regrets giving her life!

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