Classic Comebacks to Annoying Things People Say About Adoption
A Good Laugh Sometimes, comments - and our responses - bring tears of laughter:
Fran writes:"[while registering my daughter at a very large medical clinic] I was asked for her father's name and replied that this was a single parent, closed adoption and there was no father. To which the young secretary replied: 'Everyone has a father and you have to supply the name or your appointment will be cancelled.' I asked to speak to the office manager and explained the situation to her. She agreed with the secretary and said I had to supply a name, so I gave her "John Doe". She refused to accept this as the father's name. By now 45 minutes had passed and the line behind me was getting longer so I said: 'If I tell you exactly what it says on her birth certificate would that be okay?"' She said it was, so I told her it was long and complicated and I would spell it out. Then I replied (spelling):
Sin glep aren tad opti on.
At this point the crowd behind me started roaring in laughter and the secretary still didn't get it, but I was processed through for my daughter's appointment."
More from Fran:"I adopted my three daughters 30 years ago, so I could go on and on on this subject. My daughters are all the same age, born within 3 months of each other so I was frequently asked if they were triplets. When I said 'no' and gave their ages, the next question would be: 'They are too close together, you could not have had them naturally, are they adopted?' and when I would say 'yes' the next question would be: 'Oh, how nice, did they come from the same family?' In other words, I could not have had them naturally but there is someone else out there popping out a baby a month..."
When "Yes" Is the Only AnswerSandy writes:"I have an adopted Chinese daughter and these two things actually happened on the same day in the same store!: A man looked at my daughter, looked at me, looked away, looked back and asked, 'Is her father Asian?' to which I replied 'Yes' and walked away. Not even five minutes later, a woman actually took the time to approach me and asked, 'Is she yours or is she adopted?' My answer was 'Yes.' and again I walked away.
"The freedom people feel to pry always amazes me--not to mention the lack of manners."
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