Sunday, June 1, 2014

The best Memorial Day EVER

Nothing tops the birth of my 2 children as the most fantastic days of my life. But this one comes close. You are not going to believe what's been going on in my life the last couple of weeks! Bear with me, this is a long story, but a happy one!
 
I am 46 years old & an only child. You have no idea how much I HATED being an only child. Especially when I was little & lived in a very small town. I was extremely shy (kind of the anti-adult me) & not having any siblings didn't help. All my friends had siblings. The first time I met another only child was in high school. She loved it. I envied her because I really hated it. 

Fast forward to when my dad died 11 years ago, at age 57. Way too young. Again, I was very alone. Sure, I had my mom. But we were grieving differently. I had my husband, but he still had both his parents. He had no idea what it was like to lose a parent. I really glommed onto my friends who had lost one or both their parents. I felt a connection to them. 

Fast forward again to last week Sunday. My mom called & after the usual chit chat, she asked if I had any time to stop by after work any time soon. I looked at my calendar, & told her possibly on Wednesday, but that we were pretty booked the whole week. I figured she wanted help putting in her screen door or something else warm-weather related. When I asked what she needed help with, she said "Nothing, I just need to talk to you." I thought "uh oh...". I asked if she was ok, & she assured me she isn't dying. I asked if I was dying. She laughed & said no, she just needed to talk to me in person. Now, just a few months ago my grandma, who I was extremely close to, died. Even though I knew it was coming, my mom had no problem telling me over the phone. Something was wrong.

She finally relented, & said my aunt had been contacted on Facebook by someone, & she was afraid I would be, too. Now I was wondering if I was in the Witness Protection Program & didn't know. Then she dropped the bomb on me. "The person who contacted Aunt C is your father's son."

Um ....... what?!?!?!?

"Your father dated a girl in high school before he met me, she got pregnant & they put the baby up for adoption."

Um ....... what?!?!?!?

She proceeded to tell me they had already broken up when they found out she was pregnant, in fact he was already dating my mom. Her mother was a very strict BEOTCH & turned my grandparents away when they offered to help. The girl was sent away to live with a family as a housekeeper until the baby was born. My grandparents even offered to have her live with them, but this girl's mom said if they came near her daughter, she would call the police. So .... they left it alone. The baby was put up for adoption & that was the end. My mom did know, as did my aunt & uncle. But that was it. 

So a few weeks ago my aunt got a message, asking if she was {my father's} sister. She said yes & it went from there. After my mom told me, I looked him up on Facebook & he is the spitting image of my dad. My aunt forwarded me some of the emails between them & OMG, the humor -- same as my dad. It was scary.

But nothing prepared me for today. My aunt & I got to meet him, & WOW, it was like talking to a younger version of my dad. He's funny, intelligent, clearly a very caring husband & father - he is everything I ever would have wanted in a brother. He lives in Madison, just an hour away, & we are already planning to meet each other's family. I posted a picture of us on Facebook & the support from both sides is amazing. Everyone is thrilled for us. I've lost a lot of family members in the last few years, I never thought I would actually have any kind of addition!

So this Memorial Day definitely goes down as the best in my life. We have been enjoying getting to know each other via Facebook posts, messages & photos. I can't wait for him to meet the rest of my family, nor can I wait to meet his wife, daughter & the rest of HIS family! 

If you have read this entire thing THANK YOU for sharing in my joy!!! 

Me & my new brother:



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