I was adopted at birth and didn't find out until I was 13. I was watching one of those after school specials with my folks on TV and it was a story about an adopted kid wanting to find his parents. I imagine it was an awkward moment for them and I let them off the hook when I said something like "I don't see what the big deal is, those are the people he grew up with. They're his family." They took that opportunity to tell me I was adopted and if I wanted to meet my biological family it would be okay. I told them I didn't really care at the time. Maybe some day but there was no rush.
Fast forward several years. I'm on active duty in the navy and spent my whole career up and down the East coast. At this point, I had lost my father and brother, so my only family left was my mother. The navy was deploying a prototype cruise missile system to a destroyer in Everett WA. As the course supervisor of the Tomahawk school at the Atlantic Fleet Combat Training Center, I was uniquely qualified to head up that project. The program Admiral "asked" me if I wanted to do it, so I said "sure sir, I've never been to the Pacific Northwest so why the hell not."
Unfortunately, about a couple years after transferring, my mother died of terminal cancer, so I lost my whole family. A week later, I found out that my biological family lived up the road about 45 minutes North. Apparently, they were asking some relatives on the East coast about me and were told I was only a few towns away that whole time. So, I met up with everyone and they've been a part of my life for 20 years now.
I lost a family and gained a family at the same time. I'm sure some folks here would say that wasn't a coincidence. I don't know if it was or not, but that part of my life would have made a good chick flick
It's been different. I know I am related but lived a different life.
Go for it and see what happens. But if your folks are still around, make sure they realize that they'll always be your family in your eyes. My mom couldn't have kids so I was a gift. But I also knew what kind of sacrifice they made for me and never once made them feel like they weren't my real parents.
Good luck.
