Felt I was ready on an emotional level for what I would find out. Yes, I have been doing the could of, should of and would of and Ron had been telling me for years to do this but realized you don't start this until you are ready to deal with whatever you discover.
So I began my research in earnest about 3 months ago and have discovered family. First I located 2 half-sisters (Carolyn and Mary Jo). Then while doing this research saw that someone was looking for information on Dad. As I was not sure if this person would be checking the web site again, decided to see if I could figure out her email id. Tried different email endings and bingo got the right one. It turned out to be my half-brother Tom's daughter Katie. My small family universe has grown.
At the time we left for vacation, my new found family grew too:
2 half-sisters, 1 half-brother
The sisters and brother are:
Carolyn who lives in WA with her husband Mike. They have 2 sons
Mary Jo who lives in Houston, Tx with her husband David. They have 1 son
Tom who lives in Northern AZ with his wife Vicki. They have 2 daughters and 2 sons
Additionally, located a cousin who lives in Indiana. Her name is Barbara Ann and we have talked as well. She is quite a character. Barabara Ann has been working on doing family research and provided quite a bit of family information over to me. Found out that Dad was 1 of 8 children. She is working on getting some family pictures and other stuff put together so we can add this information to the family tree we are working on to build/update on the web.
On the trip up from Portland to Anacortes, I actually met and visited with Carolyn. Her and Mike live about 35 miles North of Portland. We had a real nice visit and talk. At the time of meeting Carolyn, I was only aware of the half-sisters and half-brother.
When we went up and stayed Anacortes, WA, we made a trip down to Oak Harbor as this was the last address that we had for Dad. Discovered through the death notice, that my Dad had remarried after my Mom and he had a couple of step-sons (Larry, Bruce and Harry). Having their names, I started doing some research on the web and found Larry. Harry passed away about 3 years ago. When I contacted Larry and his wife Marcia, they were surprised to hear from me. They wanted to know if we were passing by their way as they live in Vancouver, WA. As we would be heading down to Portland to visit with Jim, told them that I would try to give them a call when we got into Portland. We were able to get together and had a great visit. Each of us shared stories and pictures.
Yes, this has been emotional and I have experienced all kinds of stuff. But I am so thankful to have finally learned what happened with Dad and gaining additional family is great and what a wonderful gift to discover. A lot of questions that I had were answered by Larry along with the sharing of some funny stories from him as well. After I got home, I made a call to Bruce (the other step-brother). We caught up with each other Monday evening and had a long chat.
As to the other siblings, we are going to meet right after Thanksgiving. Tom and his wife are coming out here as one of his daughter's lives right down the road from us in Roseville. Talk about the six degrees of separation, him and his wife were actually looking at homes in the Auburn area before settling on moving to AZ from Southern CA. Mary Jo and her husband David are coming out as well. Getting really excited about all of this. Ron is trying to keep track of all the new found brother/sister in-laws that he has now acquired.
How Dad came to be in all of our lives is quite a story but that is for some other time and does it really all matter? For me, no it does not. For me, knowing some more history just closes those open issues that I have dealt with over the years. If out of this, we all decide we wish to develop a relationship and keep in touch then this is a positive. It has been pretty amazing to me how we all seem to be able to talk with a relative of easiness and also find we have some common interests. We have shared pictures and it is kind of weird to be looking at someone else who has some similar features and expressions.
Maybe there is a reason why all of us waited this long to start our research. Who knows how any of us would of handled this discovery when we were in our 20's, 30's, etc. Being a little older and dealing with life experiences probably has mellowed us out so we are not so judgemental. You know, getting rid of the baggage!!!
So I guess you can say, that life is not dull around here. Sharing a couple of pictues with you as well. One is of Carolyn and I. The other is of Larry and myself, then one of Larry, his wife Marcia, Ron, Jim and myself.
No, you won't find us appearing on "The Today Show", "Jerry Springer" and/or "Dr. Phil".
So what is next you ask, who knows. Going to be working on my Mom's family. After this research, who knows what I will discover.
No comments:
Post a Comment