Who am I?

Have you ever wondered where you came from? Most of us have had the privilege of being born to our parents who really wanted us and had planned for us to be in their lives. That is not true for everyone. Can you imagine being 15 years old, and in love with a 18 year old guy who meant the entire world to you? So madly in love, and hoping to one day be married, you find yourself carrying a child that you had not planned for? Now imagine the year is 1967 and you are a sophomore in high school at an all girls Catholic school!

That is the situation that Sandee Corrigan (now Jenkins) found herself in. Feeling terrified and in a state of disbelief, she finally told her Mother who immediately went into a rage and with no further discussion, insisted she go to Florida to a home for unwed mothers and give the baby up for adoption. When they found out the home was already full, she was sent to live with her Grandparents in St Petersburg, Florida and would stay with them until the baby came. The baby's father, Robbie, really wanted to marry Sandee and keep the baby, but after much deliberation and soul searching, they both knew that was not going to be what would be best.

Jill Anne (now Sue Anne), was born on 11/06/1967, and Sandee got to spend thirty heart-wrenching minutes with her before Catholic Social Services took her away and put her up for adoption. One request Sandee had was that the baby be adopted back in Nebraska, and that was granted. After two months with the nuns in Florida, Sue Anne was sent to Nebraska and was adopted by a loving couple, Don and Sally Schmaderer, who at the time couldn't have children. Sue Anne became the greatest gift that God could ever have given them, and she could not have been adopted by any better or more loving parents. Meanwhile, Sandee went back to Omaha to live with her parents and it was just miserable. She continued to see Robbie, but that soon fizzled when he found someone else without her knowledge. She could have not felt more empty inside. Every child she saw, she looked to see if it might be her daughter. The days were long and very depressing. Finally, she went back to a new school, graduated with honors, and the baby was never spoken of in the family again. She attended college, then moved to Houston, Texas for a few years. She eventually ended up in Chattanooga, Tennessee, finished her degree in Advertising Art and opened an advertising agency. That is where she met and married Mike Jenkins. Not a day went by that she didn't pray for Sue Anne and long to meet her someday, but only if that was what Sue Anne wanted. She let the Catholic Social Services know that if her daughter ever tried to find her,(which wasn't allowed until age 25) she would love to meet her.

Sue Anne had a great life with her adoptive family and they loved her very much. She knew that God was looking out for her when she was placed with Don and Sally. Her adoptive mother eventually gave birth to a girl and a boy and Sue Anne was blessed with siblings. Always knowing from a very early age that she was adopted, she used to tease them that she was very special because they had actually picked her! She loved her family very much, but there was always a part of her that felt like she didn't belong. Her family members were very serious people, and Sue Anne was crazy, silly, a jokester, and creative. She said, "being adopted is not the same as being born into a family. It's not better or worse, just different. I didn't feel like I knew who I really was". She spent a great deal of time wondering who her real parents were and why they didn't want her. Logically, she knew they must have had a good reason, but that tugged at her heart strings for most of her young life.

When Sue Anne was a freshman in college her parents received a letter from the adoption agency stating that her birth mother would like to get in touch with her if she ever wanted to meet her. She suddenly felt this huge sigh of relief because now she knew her birth mother wanted to meet her. So when Sue Anne turned 25 she was able to contact Catholic Social Services and let them know she was ready to be reunited with her birth mother. At the time, she was herself married to a wonderful man named Brad and was starting to think of having a family of her own. Months went by and red tape from the agency caused many delays. Finally, she and Sandee were allowed to mail letters to each other through the agency. Those letters to each other were filled with emotions and heartfelt words. Tender writings of two strangers who had already been through so much together even though they had never met. They each hung on every word. They were then allowed to call each other on the phone. Getting the phone call for Sue Anne was the call she had been waiting for all of her life. "I cannot even begin to describe all the feelings I was having at that moment. But I can tell you there were tears of pain and joy."

When permission was given for them to meet they wanted to do it as soon as possible. Sandee would fly from Chattanooga to the Lincoln, NE airport, and Sue Anne, who was on a business trip, would fly from Chicago to Lincoln and they would meet at the airport. While Sue Anne was flying, the other passengers on the plane got wind of what was happening and told the flight attendants and the pilots. So they announced over the intercom what was about to take place, and then presented Sue Anne with a bottle of champagne. They made her promise to be the last one off of the plane. The passengers deboarded the plane and formed a huge circle and as Sue Anne got off the plane she could see Sandee running towards her. Everyone clapped and cheered.

Sue Anne said, "Can you imagine the feeling of seeing someone who resembles you for the first time? I am not talking just looks like me but also acts, thinks, laughs, and has the same sense of humor as me." The biggest surprise was they had similar haircuts, dyed the same color, and very similar glasses. They both love to do crafts and were both very creative.

Today, Sandee and Sue Anne get together about four or more times a year and are definitely part of each other's families.

They email each other and talk on the phone all the time. One of Sue Anne's favorite bible verses is from Jeremiah 1:5. "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart". Sue Anne and Sandee both knew that God loved them and he had a plan for them. Even though Sandee had an unplanned pregnancy and some might think that was a mistake, they both knew that couldn't be possible because God doesn't make mistakes. For Sue Anne and Sandee it has been a very difficult road but at least now they are walking down the same path, making up for lost years and learning what it is like to be mother and daughter. I wish them nothing but happiness ahead.