Donna Grace is a beautiful name, but she'll always be Duckboots to us!:-)

My ex was so surprised after all of these years. He'd signed over all rights to my youngest (she was 1.5 years old) when we got divorced and never saw us again, until she went to visit him last summer. He figured she'd hate him and that I'd probably told her all kinds of bad stuff about him.

He was pleasantly surprised to learn that Rog and I had always been upfront and honest with all three kids about Rog adopting them after we married. We esp. made a point to let Rue know that her dad had signed her over because he didn't want her to have a disruptive life as he'd had when growing up bouncing back and forth between parents, step-parents, etc. We always made sure she knew he did it out of love for her and that we were grateful for that.

She first made contact with him via telephone, then spent 2.5 days with him, his wife, and other daughter. They spoke for hours on the phone for about 6 months before her visit. That one visit seems to have been enough for her. She hasn't had any contact with him since, although he has tried. She just doesn't feel any need.

Great thread, Rick. I've noticed some channel on cable has been running a series called "Adoption Stories," haven't watched it, though.

kat