Maria Kelmis was adopted from Greece at the age of fifteen months. She always knew she was adopted and considers it one of the best things that happened in her life. Golden Strangers is a story about a journey to find her biological mother specifically to thank her and tell her that she had a wonderful life. You will experience the great moments in Maria's life that may not have happened if she was not adopted from Greece. Journey with Maria to San Diego, California, as a young lady out on her own for the first time, share her multiple visits to Greece including the months she spent on the island of Santorini painting, travel with her to Uganda, Africa, as she embarks on the experience of a lifetime, and share the excitement of participating in the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. All these events combined with her biological mother's sacrifice have made Maria thankful for all of the blessings in her life and have given her the desire to give back in so many ways; from working and volunteering with the Greek Orthodox Church, to helping the homeless, volunteering with autistic children, and becoming a certified life coach, thereby helping people with their life goals. This book is not only for people who share her story of adoption, it is for anyone who loves to hear a great story and believes in a power greater than all of us that makes things happen in our lives. If you have adopted a child or know of someone who has, you are encouraged to buy her children's book, Rainbow Bridge, which is a book for parents to read to their children of any age to let them know that they were adopted and that they are special and loved, also published by AuthorHouse.

Auszug. � Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

Golden Strangers

An Adoption MemoirBy Maria Kelmis

AuthorHouse

Copyright � 2012 Maria Kelmis
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4685-4570-8

Chapter 1: A Writer's Retreat.........................................................1Chapter 2: Growing Up in America......................................................4Chapter 3: My First Trip Back to Greece, 1980.........................................9Chapter 4: California Dreamin', 1981..................................................30Chapter 5: Painting in Santorini, 1987................................................52Chapter 6: New York, New York: Back Home, 1987........................................76Chapter 7: A Mission to Africa, 1990—Mission: Possible..........................80Chapter 8: More than a Business—Amway Opens in Greece, 1996.....................117Chapter 9: The Letter.................................................................119Chapter 10: The Hand of God...........................................................127Chapter 11: Eureka—I Found Her!.................................................130Chapter 12: Meeting Anna for the First Time...........................................134Chapter 13: A Mother-to-Daughter Heart-to-Heart.......................................142Chapter 14: Diary of a Mad Big Fat Greek Woman........................................152Chapter 15: Still Single After All These Years........................................165Chapter 16: Sisterly Love.............................................................168Chapter 17: God's Backup Plan.........................................................172Chapter 18: The Aftermath.............................................................176Epilogue My Mother, My Angel..........................................................185

Chapter One

A Writer's Retreat

Everyone has a story—this one is mine. I was kind of apprehensive when packing for my trip to the ranch on the second Saturday in April 2011. Whenever I do something major in my life, I ask myself, "Why am I doing this?"—and when the time actually comes, I get anxious and nervous and wish I had never planned it. Well, this writer's retreat to St. Nicholas Ranch was no different. I was looking forward to it up until the day I started packing, then I got uneasy and just wanted to stay home. It was a three-hundred-mile drive up to Dunlap, California, from San Diego, where I currently live. I got up to the ranch on Monday morning about 9:30 and met Amber, who had taken my reservation over the phone. She said she still had to clean a room for me since there were more people staying there last week than she expected. She asked me to wait about twenty minutes for her to clean a room. About thirty minutes later, the New York in me kicked in; I was already disturbed by the solitude. It was a beautiful, sunny day after the morning clouds burned off. The birds were chirping, and it was so quiet it could drive a city girl crazy—and it was. I was already stressing that the day was getting away from me. I went to the dining hall to wait.

I was wondering what I had gotten myself into. I was stressing about all the information I needed to parse through to write my story. I have all I need to write the book, I just need to get it done, which is why I scheduled this trip. I needed to focus and get this done once and for all. I thought coming up to the mountains in Dunlap was just the ticket. There were no televisions in the room, no cell phone reception, and no Internet, just peace and quiet, which gave me anxiety for the first hour after I got up here. Amber put me in a room all the way down the hall—the very last room. It took about four trips to unload my car. You would never know that I was only staying for one week by all the stuff I brought up here. I had to bring all my food since I was the only one staying on the ranch this week (they cook for you if you come up with a group). It was Great and Holy Lent, which meant I was limited to what I could eat; no meat or dairy. On top of that, I only had the use of a microwave, so I brought utensils, bowls, and a can opener. Oh, my goodness! I was frustrated already. A control freak like me could not be comfortable in this situation. Before unloading my car, I saw Michael Pappas, who is the director of St. Nicholas Ranch. We used to work together in the Youth Office at the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese in New York. I haven't seen him in over ten years. He hasn't changed much except for maybe a little extra gray hair. It felt really good to see him.

After I unloaded my car, I was hungry; by now it was after eleven o'clock. I ate leftover steamed vegetables from the night before and an orange with some peach tea. Then I went to the chapel they made out of a barn to venerate the icons and pray for inspiration and strength in completing my task, which is writing the story of finding my biological mother in Greece. I went back to the room and arranged the desk. I tried setting up my laptop to see if the broadband card would pick up a signal, but no luck. I looked through the desk and opened a book with information about the ranch. It had a map inside and I was amazed when I saw what the name of the pool was: "Haretakis Swimming Pool." Haretakis is the last name of my biological father! What a coincidence, but as I learned throughout the search for my biological mother, there are no coincidences.

After writing for a few hours, I took a break for dinner. I went to the dining hall to microwave my pasta and make a tomato and onion salad, which is a Greek favorite. When I was in the dining hall, I met one of the cooks, Mary. She was organizing a surprise party for Michael, the director, since it was his birthday the next day. She asked me what I was doing up here at the ranch all alone. I told her I was writing the story of finding my biological mother. She was intrigued.

"Wow, how did you do that?" she said.

"Well, it's a long story," I said, "but if you have some time, I could start telling it to you. It is a very special story to me—I feel like I am sharing a piece of my heart every time I tell it."

"Sure, I have time," she said.

Chapter Two

Growing Up in America

"I've always known I was adopted," I started. "My parents told my sister and me right from the beginning that we were both adopted from Greece. In fact, they told us in such a loving way that we have always had a great self-image about being adopted. They surrounded the word `adopted' with loving and special words—as a result, adoption became a positive concept for both of us. For this reason I was inspired to write a children's book called Rainbow Bridge: An Adoption Story, which is already published and available on the Amazon and Barnes & Noble websites. I have a copy in the car if you'd like to see it later."

"Yes, I would love to see it!" Mary said.

"My parents were the best parents any child could ever have," I continued. "So my search for finding my biological mother was not because I lacked a good mother or father. I think people who adopt children have to understand this. If your child decides to search for their biological parents, it could be because of any number of reasons. Thankfully, my parents supported me in my search.

"Growing up with my sister, Kathy, we were kind of like twins," I said.

Mary asked, "Is she your real sister?"

"She is not my biological sister, if that's what you mean by...

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