SINGLE MOTHER’S STORY
(Two Countries)
Hi! My name is Mary Ingoldsby and I’m a single parent who has adopted three beautiful daughters with the help of Thursday’s Child in Connecticut, and two different agencies with which my agency has cooperated in the past. Carrie, age 12, is from Korea, Mary-Selvi is from Southern India, and Roberta, age 9, is from Calcutta, India. We lead a very hectic family life full of fun and activities. All three girls are Girl Scouts in three separate troops and I’m a troop leader for one of the troops. They all take jazz dance lessons and are in their school’s choruses and bands. All three are born mermaids. They love to swim and are excellent at it.
Thursday’s Child has been a godsend to me. Prior to contacting the agency, I had spent a few years working with two other agencies, but never had a child placed with me. I almost gave up, but saw the number for Thursday’s Child in the yellow pages and decided to give it one more try! What a smart move that was on my part, as my oldest daughter arrived home within six months of that first call to Thursday’s Child. It did take considerably longer for the other two girls to arrive home, but they were both well worth the wait. At that time, most foreign programs working directly with Thursday’s Child placed babies and I felt that an older child would work out better for me, as well as being more realistic for my finances as a single adoptive parent. Mary-Selvi’s adoption took several years. The hearings kept on being postponed for reasons none of us could understand. Roberta’s adoption also took a much longer time than anyone had expected, but with a detour that first involved attempting to adopt from another country and then opting for India. There were many frustrations, aggravations and upsets in getting all three girls home. It is hard to say why my second and third adoptions took so long, but it had a lot to do with the bureaucracy in India. The staff and the many wonderful Thursday’s Child families helped me cope with the frustrations and ups and downs of the adoption process, none of which were the fault of either agency involved in my placements. In fact, Thursday’s Child willingly updated my homestudy and documents many times and joked that I have the fattest files in the agency’s history.
My family and I are always willing to speak with others who are interested in adopting, and especially through Thursday’s Child. We know that clients involved in adopting right now are quite lucky, in that the time frame for most countries is usually pretty short. Although we cannot guarantee an easy road, you can see by watching my daughters, that happy families can be created with persistence on the part of parents and with the help of Thursday’s Child!! Please feel free to contact me for encouragement and support as you pursue your adoption journey.
Mary Ingoldsby- CT