Adoption, the conventional wisdom is it's bad. I have a little experience, and I say Pfui.

[Savannahmann]

22. I won't dare speak for you.

For me, it was satisfaction with my current situation. Not long ago, I filled out another health questionnaire for my Doctor. In the appropriate slots, I wrote my standard answer to the question. "Family Medical History". I wrote None.

I don't have any family medical history, and that may be the only thing I am lacking. But in all of those risk categories, theoretically I would find signs of most of them anyway. If my blood pressure is up, then I'm going to treat it no matter how my Grandfather died. If my tests show increased blood sugar and the Doctor expresses concern, I'm not going to argue and say no history of Diabetes in my family man, move on. I'm going to either listen, or ignore him, as I am going to do. If I'm smart, I'll listen. If I'm dumb, I'll ignore him.

I don't have the slightest desire to find out about my Birth Parents. It makes no difference to me if they were artists, singers, protesters, drug addicts, criminals, authoritarians, or anarchists. The old Doctor Lawyer Indian Chief rhyme comes into play here.

None of that matters. What matters is the man I've become, and the parents I tried to live up to. I told my Father a few months before he died. If I end up being half the man he is, I will consider my life a success. I know I can never exceed him. I can never be as honorable, as wise, as compassionate, nor as clear thinking. I am a pale imitation of that old man.

I could and do say the same about my Mother. I do not waste time wishing for a life that wasn't. I don't sit around and grump because I didn't get the right toy at Christmas. That we lived in the wrong neighborhood. That's another lesson I learned. We do the best we can, with what we have. It may not be perfect, and some days it may seem like it's just not enough. But we do what we can, with what we have.