Basically, you have two girls who are switched at birth, and figure it out when they are 16. Major twist is that one of the girls is deaf. So you basically have all these issues that the show gets to explore about not only being switched at birth but also the differences between the deaf and hearing worlds. Back to the switch thing. One girl ends up with this super rich family (the father was a major league baseball player) while the other girl ends up with a single mom in a bad area of town. Eventually, the other father comes back and had the opportunity to get to know his biological daughter.
So you have Bay and Angelo getting to know one another. Which is awkward. So in this episode, Bay meets Angelo at a coffee shop where the two of them are going to get to know each other. This is really their first time hanging out together just the two of them because all other "visits" have had a chaperon. So it's strange. And neither of them know what to say. And he orders her a coffee not realizing that she's 16 and not really allowed to drink it. Whoops! And then Bay says the most amazing thing. She tells him that it's so strange because it's like a cross between an interview and a date. Only he's her father.
She hit the nail on the head. Exactly what I felt like getting to know my first father. There's a lot of qualities that are similar to dating. Only it's not a date because he's your father. So then it feels more like an interview. But not really. There really isn't any situation that's similar. So weird and awkward. And because it's weird and awkward, you know that something doesn't feel right. Or at least I knew something didn't feel right. And that just made it worse. Don't get me wrong, it was amazing getting to know my first father. But different and unexpected at the same time. Twilight zone different.
Anyway, that small line stuck with me for the rest of the show. Because it summed up so perfectly what I was feeling nearly a year ago when I met my first father for the first time. And it really made me think about why that show is on television. Because honestly? It's like something that no other situation compares to. There isn't anything else like it. This feeling of getting to know someone you are biologically related to for the first time not as a child but as an adult (or teen in this case). It's not normal and people are drawn to the story line. Or at least that's what I think anyway.
I was talking to Rudy about things last night. He compared what I was going through to a break up. And in some cases, he's right. But at the same time, when you break up with someone, there's a small glimmer of hope that maybe there's someone else out there. You can meet another person eventually. You might not think that right away, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. My first father can never be replaced. There is only one person out there who contributed that part of my DNA. I can't search again and find someone else. That's it. He's it. So if things are really done, then that's it. It's painful, but the truth.
And because it's January 18th, go check out Amanda's blog post STOP SOPA/PIPA!
Jenn,
ReplyDeleteI feel horrible that I don't stay connected like I should in blogland. I just read your post and can relate so much ~ my first dad and I have known each other for many years and it does feel like you are trying to date or interview each other, and having to "break the ice" every time...so difficult. My first dad is backing away right now (I've done it in the past, it's like a sick dance really) and it hurts because it feels like a break up, but you are right, you can't go find another father. Hugs to you. YOU are amazing and so glad we are fellow adoptees & friends.