Joyous Reunion Of Mother, Daughter Wraps Up -- For Now
(CBS) – CBS 2 earlier this week reported on the joyous reunion between Elaine Harman of Virginia and her birth mother, Jenny Hadley of Hobart, Ind.
On Thursday, the two said farewell – for now.
Hadley was an unwed mother of 15 when she gave up her daughter for adoption 36 years ago. Both women had been using various websites that seek to link up adoptees with their birth parents and discovered each other just after Christmas.
Their first visit ever went well, CBS 2's Mike Parker reports.
Since Monday, the two women have stayed up late, talking and drinking lots of coffee. They have shopped and they have fiercely bonded.
The two are also finding out how similar they are.
"It's like spending time with myself," Elaine says. "It's crazy. We are so much alike, it's off the charts."
She says she doesn't believe anybody but birth moms and adoptees understand the phenomenon.
The two have also spent time reading a hand-written letter Jenny wrote to her daughter just before she gave her up.
Hadley wrote: "I can't put it into words, all the love I have for you."
"I did it out of love, not because I didn't want to keep her," she said.
Says her daughter: "I always knew that."
Elaine's visit won't be the last. One day soon, Jenny will meet Elaine's daughter in person. Her name is Savanna. She's 18 and like her mother, Savanna was adopted.
Or, as Elaine says: "She was chosen."
