My 2 Mothers...

There was a young girl who grew up in a small town in Missouri. Her name is Patricia Murrell. She was the baby of the family. In fact, her 2 brothers and sister where a lot older than her.

Their father left the family when she was around 3 years old. Her mother worked in the school cafeteria to make ends meet. By the time she was in 9th grade she had dropped out of school. She, her mother and sister eventually moved to Florida for a new life.

Standing 2nd from the left is Patricia

While working as a waitress in 1960 a young man name John Franklin sat at her counter. Her first words to him were "Will you marry me?" It was a leap year so he replied "sure." A few months later they did get married and lived in DeLand, Volusia County, Florida. They tried to have children, but were unable.

Also in Volusia County, Florida, was a young high school girl that had a broken home. Her name is Anne Carlin.Her older brother died in a car wreck. She lived in several foster homes. She had no relationship with her father. She got pregnant and gave birth on April 23, 1965 at the age of 17. The decision had been made to give the baby up for adoption. If it wasn't for her mother asking a nurse, she wouldn't have known that she gave birth to a baby boy. I'm that baby boy.

John and Patricia had decided to adopt. They were on an adoption waiting list and after I was born I went home from the hospital with them. We lived in Florida for a few more years and then moved to Stafford County, Virginia. This is where I grew up. They loved me and raised me as if Patricia had given birth to me. I had no brothers or sisters, but I had aunts, uncles and cousins. A lot of them. I never felt like an outsider. However, I was the only one with blonde hair, so I did look different than the rest of my family. Patricia was a loving and caring stay at home mother. Everyday was full home cooked meals. There was always cakes, pies and cookies in the kitchen. I should have weighed a ton growing up. She helped me with my homework. She made sure I was dressed properly before I left the home. She bandaged me up when I got hurt. I always had friends staying over and she took care of all of us. Then as we all get older we eventually lose our parents. Patrica passed away in January of 2016. She, like John, was a child of the Lord and I know I'll see her again in eternity.

I did genealogy for my adopted family. There are a lot of interesting people in my adopted family tree. Benjamin Franklin for one. Now that my adopted parents have passed I really wondered who are my birth parents. I started a campaign to find them. I had some basic information so I did my best to find them on all of my genealogy web sites. I ran into dead ends over and over. I told the Lord that if it was in His will to please let me find them. If not, I will accept this. I did DNA genealogy a few years ago. One day my son, Ian, asked if he could do it, too. We did the test and had been waiting for weeks for the results. One day I'm on my computer and Ian asked if I could check to see if his results are done. I log onto the web site to check and Ian's name is next to mine as my son. And... a lady's name is next to mine as my mother! My jaw about hit the floor. I told Ian, "Look! There's my mother." We were both dumbfounded. Anne had just done a DNA test to try to find me.

The Lord had answered my prayer in His timing. I contacted one of my cousins on Facebook and told her the news. We both started searching the internet to find her contact information and she found Anne. She lives in Ormond Beach, Volusia Co. Florida. I found her house phone number on the internet late at night. The next day I parked at the city docks in Fredericksburg. One of my favorite places. I said a prayer and called the phone number. Her husband answered and I explained that I was trying to get in touch with Anne because we have a connection on ancestry.com. Then I heard my mother's voice for the first time after 51 years. I told her that I was her son and that I found her through DNA. I didn't know what to expect. Would she tell me to get lost or what? It was an answer to prayer. We immediately hit it off and talked for a long time. During the conversation, she told me that it was her birthday. Since then we have become very close. We see each other as much as possible and stay in constant contact. It's as if we didn't skip a beat. This is our first Mother's Day. It only took 52 years to happen. She told me her life's story. She had 2 more sons. She worked multiple jobs and raised her 2 boys as a single mom. During all this she finished college, became an officer and a MASH nurse in the US Army reserves. She worked in multiple hospitals assisting heart surgeries and other specialized health care. Eventually, she became a nursing professor at Daytona State College. This week she has retired from teaching.

My brother Command Sgt. Maj. Grant Smith
&  Capt. Anne Burroughs

Anne Burroughs, MSNED, CNOR, CRNFA
Assistant Professor of Nursing at Daytona State College

The Lord in his perfect timing has taken care of me. I'm blessed to have had 2 mothers in my life. As one has been removed from my life another has taken her place. Once when I was born and then after my adopted mother passed away.