Steve Flaig of Plainfield, Michigan got an unexpected Christmas gift in 2007. He got to meet his biological mother. As it would turn out, he had been working with her at a Lowe's Home Improvement store for several months. As miraculous as their reunion may have been, Flaig's story illustrates the uncertainty that many adopted children go through in their search for their biological mothers.
Like many adoption reunification stories, this one begins with Christine Tallady's decision to leave the adoption records open. She was single at the time and not ready to have kids, but she realized that the son she was giving up might want to contact her someday. When that son turned 18, he requested the records and began his search for his biological mother. Steve had no progress for four years, but he finally located her in October after realizing that he had been misspelling her name in the search engines all these years. What a feeling that must have been! Once he typed the correct name, he immediately found an address very close to his house.
After mentioning his discovery to his boss, he realized that he had been working with his biological mother, Chris Tollady, since the previous April. He was not sure how to approach her, however. How do you tell someone that you are the son? For over a month, he saw here at work, but said nothing. He finally asked the adoption agency to call her on December 12. They told her that not only did her son want to meet her, but that they already knew each other because they were coworkers. Obviously, it was an emotional reunion. The two celebrated by catching up at a bar near their workplace.
Obviously, Steve had reason to be nervous about approaching his biological mother. What if she did not want to have anything to do with him? That would be all the more uncomfortable since the two of them worked together. There was a possibility that Chris would react badly or even quit to avoid having to meet the son she had given up for adoption. After all, she was by this time 45 and married with two kids. What if she decided she just wanted to move on with her life? Thankfully, Chris was happy to meet Steve. Rather, she was glad to learn that she was his mother. She said it was the best Christmas Present she could have hoped for. Steve, for his part, is happy to meet his siblings. All the while, he was supported by his adoptive parents who thought it was good for Steve to find his biological mother. That is important for someone facing such uncertainty and the possibility of serious rejection.
