Birthday stories...

Me and Mama Lu

Adriane, Phyillis, LuAnn, Elayne

Tomorrow (the 14th) is my birthday! I love birthdays and want to share about a couple of the most memorable. Okay...so the 1st one I don't actually remember, but I think it is worth talking about the day I was born. It is quite a remarkable little story.

On Wednesday, September 14th, 1977, a 15 year old girl did one of the bravest things she would ever do. I was born in the early morning. LuAnn Iturrino saw me for only a moment. She knew that at 15 she wasn't ready to raise a baby. I am sure that part of it was that her mom, Phyillis, wasn't ready for her 15 year old daughter to raise a baby.

LuAnn, all on her own I might add, took care of finding a family for her little girl. She kept her pregnancy a secret from everyone except her sister, Elayne, and her best friend. Phyillis found out only 1 week before I was born. It was too late for an abortion...thank goodness!!! Okay this may not all be clear and doesn't have much detail, but as a little girl I always knew I was adopted which in my mind made me extra special. Because I have always known, there was always a curiosity about where I had come from. Who did I look like...Did I have any other siblings?

When I was 18 or 19 my mom (Martha...she got me when I was 3 days old and raised me) gave me a letter that LuAnn had written for me when I was born. It is a beautiful letter. In it she explained why she wasn't with me and that it was not that she didn't love me, she just knew that she probably couldn't provide me all the things that I would need. In her mind adoption was an ugly word. (I understand what she meant) She loved me and wanted me. How incredibly amazing!!! She was so selfless. And beautiful...I say that because I had to get it somewhere... :)

Cut to 30 years later...

Because I have always known and because I knew her name and circumstances, it had crossed my mind numerous times to find her and thank her for giving me life and for being brave enought to give me more. So in July of 2007, while watching a special on VH1 about Darryl of Run DMC and his journey to find his birth mother, I was inspired to look LuAnn up. Hello...we have the internet and it can find just about anything!!

I googled her name...not much was coming up...Somehow I ended up on a peoplelookup.com. A LuAnn Iturrino was listed with a couple of different cities and states. It also listed a Pyhillis Iturrino (her mom) and Elayne Iturrino (her sister). Of course, if I wanted more info I would have to pay to get any actual addresses or phone #'s. Dang! I wasn't about to throw money away on potentially useless info. Now what?

I kept searching around and eventually ended up on freewhitepages.com with a listing for Phyillis Iturrino...in Miami. To make a long story longer...I wrote a quick note stating who I was, that I had been adopted and was looking for my birth mom. I just wanted to say thanks and learn about my family. Nothing more. I included my address, phone #, and email. Didn't really know what to expect, but what was the harm?

I mailed the letter on Monday, July 16th, 2007. I almost forgot about it until the phone rang on Sunday of that same week. P Iturrino was calling...Holy CRAP!! Mark grabbed the phone. I couldn't believe it. What would I say?! I let the voice mail get it...

She left a message saying that she was calling in regards to a letter and that if I liked I could call her back. I cried! Well first I showered...then I cried...then I called her back...

AWESOME!!! I will write more about that later, but I want to get to my birthday.

On September 13th, 2007 I boarded a plane in Salt Lake City headed for Miami. I was going to spend my 30th birthday with the woman who had carried me for 9 months and seen me for 5 minutes before giving me up. I was very nervous and emotional. I bawled on the plane when we were about to land in Atlanta for a lay over. I was about to change my life forever!! After a 3+ hour delay in Atlanta...stupid rain...I got on a plane again for Miami. LuAnn was waiting patitiently at the gate for my arrival. We laughed and cried and hugged. I joked about the "long labor", but that I was finally there! It was BEAUTIFUL!! Mixed emotions and a lot more to tell about...later.

Bottom line...I am EXTREMELY blessed. I know that everything about LuAnn and I was arranged in heaven long before we were on this earth. I am so thankful everyday for who I am and where I have been. I love and adore all of my family. More about them all later too.

So...Happy Birthday to ME tomorrow!! 31 wonderful years under my belt so far...many more to come...