Mamma Has Allowed One Photo Of Me

[Addie]

Cat, my father had real carrot top red hair. Had to be from his mother. She was German. His father was a full blood Native American. I had red hair growing up, my mother had black. Both my parents had brown eyes. I had three kids with bright blue eyes. You can see them a half block away. My youngest daughter had red hair, Spike had a red beard, it is now all grey, and one was a true tow head. White hair as a kid and it is still blonde to this day even though he is in his fifties. My daughter has brown hair and brown eyes. My youngest son was born with red hair and brown eyes. Yet they all look alike and look like me. None of them look like their father, yet they have their father's eyes and my skin tones. Thank goodness, they all have my nose.

So my family has recessive genes all over the place. Red hair, brown hair, blonde hair, blue eyes, brown eyes, light skin, dark skin, And they are all part of the same family.

And BTW, I hated growing up with red hair. I tortured my mother because she married a red head.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Cat, I hope you understand now that you are not responsible for the assumptions and prejudices of other people.

In Romania, people may have *assumed* you were not related because of your looks, but that only shows their ignorance. My brother has blond hair and blue eyes while my parents and sister and I all have dark brown hair. My mom is the only other one with blue eyes. Blond is a recessive gene trait, so odds are my parents would not have a blond child, but they did. It means nothing but a display of genetic chance.

Now that you're a citizen of the United States, where adoption is just another family arrangement, I hope you can leave those bad feelings people created in you behind in Romania.

With love,
GG

Same here, I'm the only blonde with brown eyes in my family. Everyone else has dark hair with blue or green eyes. They are also all tall, over 5'6", while I am 5'. I do look like my Great Grandmother and she was 4'11".

 

[Katie H]

In Romania, everyone could tell that I was adopted because I don't look at all like my parents. Mamma has luscious dark brown hair and very dark brown eyes, and when Papa did have hair, his was very dark brown. His brown eyes are lighter than Mamma's. They are also tall. Mamma is 5'9" and Papa is 6'.

I thank you all. Yes, I suppose I'm Irish, Scottish, Romanian, dog, cat, American, gypsy and ogress. I love America. Where else can one be so many things?

With love,
~Cat

I'm wondering where it is written that each child is supposed to be a copy of their parents. Regardless how one's ethnicity is maintained or diluted, being a carbon copy of one's parents rarely happens.

Until my parents married and had children, their ethnic backgrounds we undiluted. My father's was solely Irish and my mother's was Austrian/Croation, both their pedigrees went back too many generations to count. As a result, my siblings and I are a mix of both their backgrounds.

Daddy was quite tall and slim and had dark brown, nearly black, hair and dark, dark brown eyes. Our mother was tall, also, and had dark hair as well. She, however, had pale blue eyes.

Then I arrived, along with 4 surviving siblings. I had 2 sisters die along the way. I have dark, dark hair like my father, as well as his dark brown eyes. My next youngest sibling, a brother, has almost the same coloring as I. As does my youngest sibling, a sister. Except for our age differences, we could be triplets.

My other brother and sister are both blonde, although my brother does have the same dark brown eyes as the rest of us. Maggie is the only one of us with blue eyes.

None of us really look like our mother (Maggie comes the closest.) but there's little question she is because she gave birth to all of us.

All of us have fair Irish complexions and, when we tan, instead of a real "tan," our freckles hold hands.

My two blonde siblings don't really resemble each other at all. If you look carefully, you can see a resemblance of my father in my brother and a bit of a resemblance of our mother in my sister.

All of us are tall and I'm the shortest at 5'8" but I'm not as thin as I used to be. All our body shapes are like daddy's.

Now, if all five of us were together, any observer would believe we were from two separate families.

So, you see, Cat...even if you are the child of your biological parents, that doesn't guarantee you'll look like the rest of your family.

 

[CarolPa]

I just came across this thread with your picture, Cat. You are beautiful, just like your personality!

When I was growing up back in the 50's, there were a lot more children eligible for adoption and many people would try to choose a child of their same nationality who would resemble them. Back then if an unmarried girl got pregnant, the baby was usually put up for adoption. Now there is not the same stigma and rarely is a child put up for adoption. It makes it more difficult for people to adopt and they are seeking infants from other countries who are not going to look like the parents. But it is accepted so well because American's realize that these people are giving the children a loving home that they might otherwise not have.

Also, back in those days, families insisted that their children date and marry someone of their same generation, such as an Italian family would want their son to marry an Italian girl so their grandchildren would resemble the family. That was important to them back then. That might be why the Romanian people did not accept that you were so different from your parents. They have not yet accepted this the way Americans have.

 

[CraigC]

Wow, talk about Deja Vu, you are the spittin image of Bonnie Boleen. An Irish lass I dated in my junior year of high school, '74. No offense intended.

 

[CatPat]

I thank all of you for your kindnesses to me about my adoption and telling me I'm pretty. Now I'm glad again I posted it. It's good to know children don't always look like their parents.

CraigC, I am not offended. If you liked her so much so as to date her, she must have been a very nice girl. So, this is a compliment to me, and I thank you.

With love,
~Cat

 

[Gravy Queen]

Beautiful , is it a recent photo ? X

 

[Addie]

Beautiful , is it a recent photo ? X

No GQ. She was only 19 when that picture was taken. She is older now. But it just goes to show she is as beautiful on the outside and she is on the inside.

 

[CatPat]

No GQ. She was only 19 when that picture was taken. She is older now. But it just goes to show she is as beautiful on the outside and she is on the inside.

You are so very good to me, Addie, and all the rest of you are also. I do thank all of you for so many kindnesses to me. I will be 22 in January and I look the same.

This has to be the kindest, most caring place ever of the Internet. I'm so very proud to know such wonderful people here and I'm ever grateful to have found this website and these wonderful people.

With love,
~Cat

 

[Gravy Queen]

Ah I see thank you , I just wondered as we have digital cameras and mobile phones now so it's more easy to use a recent photo I would say , do you have a current one Cat ? Not disputing your beauty inside or out obviously , would love to see an up to date photo .

 

[Macgyver1968]

I'm adopted too....I'm some sort of mutt...but don't know what kind. I'd be interested in knowing my heritage...as much as I like pasta, I probably got some Italian in me.

 

[Zagut]

I can only say.










And thank Mamma for allowing you to post your beautiful pic.