My Three Parents

Remember the show, My Three Sons?  That was a great family show, probably over forty years ago (giving away my age...lol).  I can't but help think of that show when I think about how lucky I am to have had three sets of parents over the years.  I was born in 1960 in Rochester, MN, and was placed in a foster home around the age of three.  Clifford and Verna Boyum were such an amazing couple, raising dozens of foster children over the years, plus raising their own three children.  When I was adopted at the age of 7, I gained new parents, Gilbert and Hilda Sabin.  I moved from Kasson, MN to Bricelyn, MN, a distance of only about 80 miles, but to a young child, it seemed like a different world.  I never forgot the Boyums, but never had the opportunity to locate them again until one day in 1982 I took my adoptive parents to visit the Boyums.  It was quite a reunion, especially since it was the Boyums' 50th wedding anniversary.  I remember standing in front of the group at the church, talking about my experience as a young child living with them.  I was so excited!

In 1990, I decided it was time to locate my birth mother.  The ironic thing about it is that I remembered being called "Billy Barnes" at the Boyums, and so I figured I would start by going through the agency in Rochester to locate my birth mother.  As it happened, I found the right agency on the first try, and received info on her.  I then debated for two years whether to go through with contacting her or not, unsure how she would respond to my search.  After my son was born with major medical problems, I decided it was time.  I began the process of contacting my mother through the agency, and eventually we met up in Austin that same year.  We have since been in constant contact, in fact, I have stayed with her and her husband Clarence for over a year during personal issues.  Clarence is like a father to me, especially after learning my biological father refused to acknowledge me as his son before he died in 1998. It has been such an honor to have my birth mother Sharon and Clarence in my life now.

And so, as you see, it is possible to have three sets of parents in your lifetime.  They all played significant roles in my years growing up, and will always be cherished in my heart.  But hey, what can I say, life is what you make it, but the more family you have to support you, the easier it is.  After all, that is.....the way it is.