I received a note today from Lisa Hebert, one of my adoption search angels.  These are individuals that volunteer their time to help adoptees, like me, connect with their biological families. Lisa initially made contact with me back in 2008 with a lead on the identity of my birth mother. At that time, 57 years after my adoption, all paperwork was still sealed from public consumption by the State of Indiana in an effort to continue to protect the identity of the anonymous bio-parents. Long before that time, I had a media friend who was able to illegally circumvent the system and provide me the name of Edna Faye Banister and an Indianapolis address. I had been sitting on this information for over twenty years before I even thought of making contact. Here it is now, ten years later, and my quest continues. According to Lisa’s note: starting July 1st, 2018, Adoptee’s born in Indiana will now be able to order their original, pre-adoption birth certificate and records. This is great news because it will have your birth mothers name, ages, state of birth, mailing address and sometimes birth father information.”

Angel Lisa sent me directions on how to file my claim, and I did as instructed by both snail mail and e-mail. In six weeks I will supposedly have legal paperwork, providing the details of my adoption. It’s a step that will only confirm what I already know. Unfortunately, the birth mother is still denying any relationship to me and may go to her deathbed with any confirmation of the father. It’s an awkward situation, as I try to gain closure on the circumstances of my birth. I deserve to know this information, and the State of Indiana has now made it possible for others like me to gain some insight into their lives. Honestly, at this point, I don’t expect anything else from the now 85-year old birth mother except the name of my father. I suspect that he has passed. She has no other obligation to me, if that is her wish.

I’m still at a dead-end on this search, although I have had the pleasure of connecting with several Banister family members who are DNA relatives. It’s given me a sense that life would have been good regardless of the many forks in the road that circumstances could have taken me. I sent a reminder note to another Banister descendant that lives here in Portland about getting together for lunch. Although he will not be able to provide me with the answers I seek, he will provide some more background on the expansive Banister family and it’s Hoosier heritage. It will keep me engaged in this on-going search.