Monday, August 31, 2009

Oh BROTHER!!! (Sequel to Finding My Roots)

Imagine coming home from your job. You're tired, you want to just relax. Your mom comes over for a visit and tells you that she has a letter for you to read. She hands you the letter and you wonder what in the world this could be. After reading the letter your mom tells you that she's checked with other family members to make sure that this information is accurate and then you realize that today you gained a relative--a half brother to be exact.
Last Friday I received a call from my dad's BROTHER!!! You'll remember from my first posting that his biological mom had no other children. However, his biological father married and had one son. They were unable to ever have any other children, so their son was raised as an only child. Now, 49 years later he discovers he has a brother.
I can't tell you how completely overwhelmed and shocked both my dad's brother and his mom were (still are!). He said to me, "I never had a brother before." They both told me numeous times that their dad/husband never knew that my dad ever existed. They said he's not the type of man to abandon a child. He and his wife were married for 50 years and she said they didn't keep anything from each other.
Now, do they have any information to help me fill in the gaps? A little, just a few scant details told from his sisters who are still living. These sisters remember my dad's mom and their brother dated for a while. One sister said she even remembers that after the relationship ended, she overheard a conversation where someone has said that there was a rumor that my dad's biological mom was pregnant. The sister forgot about it and never did follow up on it. Turns out, as we all know, it was no rumor. No one was ever able to verify the information anyway, because my dad's mom married a different man and moved across the country.
As I said, I feel like with the little bits of information that are coming in, I just keep having more and more questions. Obviously she never told the biological father that she was pregnant, but why? I'm not upset because without everything happening the way it did, I wouldn't be here writing this. It's just all such a mystery and the people with the answers have all passed away. There's very little information left.
When I called my dad and told him I had just talked with his brother, he was excited. How could he not be? He's never had a brother before either.

He said, "Well, I guess you're done now."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, you've found everyone. There's no one left," he said.

Hmmmm...I guess I'm done. But they are family, I don't feel like I'm really DONE per se. Just a little bit further in the journey. Now we get to schedule a trip to meet everyone. I'm excited. What a crazy trip--meeting my uncle for the first time. Meeting a great uncle for the first time. Cousins and cousins and cousins too. Will they look anything like me? Will my dad's brother have similar characteristics to him? I'm extremely curious to meet everyone and just get filled up with information.
With such a find I have to say how grateful I am to God. Seriously, the last couple of weeks I've felt so overwhelmingly blessed by the Spirit. It's amazing to have this opportunity.
Pictures will be coming...we're still planning the trip!

8 comments:

Lara Neves said...

This is all so amazing! I can't even imagine how totally excited you and your dad must be feeling! (Not to mention his newly gained brother!)

Great detective work!

Mariley Johnson said...

Very exciting indeed!

Lauren and Trevor said...

What an inspiring story! Incredible! It must be so exciting to find family you never knew you had.

JLJ said...

Holy cow. That is an amazing story (I just read the previous post about this too). You are brave. I fear that I would feel too insecure or scared of rejection. You are a good daughter to help your dad like this.

DKAZ said...

Wow Audrey...at this rate you will soon have your own show on TLC I'm sure. Keep up the good work, this is all very interesting-I will stay tuned in for sure.

Jessica Martiele said...

There may be a whole lot of unanswered questions, but the bottom line is...WWWWOOOOOOOOO HHHHOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! Congrats on your newfound family, Audrey, and even more importantly, congrats to your DAD!!!

kimberlina said...

Your story hits so close to home for me because of being an adoptive mother myself. Of course, nowadays adoption is much more open, and we actually have pictures and family information about Forest's birthmother and his half sister. We were even able to have lunch with her.

Both Kent and I wish we had a closer relationship with Forest's birthmother, but she prefers to have less communication rather than more, which I can understand. I just hope that one day Forest will be able to find her and his biological relatives if he wants to. Family is an amazing thing! That is why they are so worth fighting for whether they be adoptive families or biological ones or both!

Mamma Meg said...

I can't believe how well this is going for you! Way to go!