A family reunion

I think my parents divorced when I was three. I have no memories at all of them ever together. I do have some faint memories of my Father, him in his Air Force uniform, he sitting at the piano and singing, his train set in the attic of our home, him putting together a banana seat sting ray bike for me when I was eight and had gone to visit him. But together, the two of them, nothing.

After they divorced my mother remarried fairly quickly and we moved to California. My father remarried also and eventually moved with his four new children to Alaska. I went to visit him once for a few months when I was almost nine, at that time he had two little boys, Mike and Tom who were two and one years old. I remember loving my Dad and thinking he was so handsome and my goodness, could he sing!

Life happened and I lived all over with different relatives, in different foster homes etc… and I had no contact at all with him. I don’t really know why, but my older brother Mark and I didn’t see him. But through out all the moves and changes in my life, I kept his last name and for some strange reason always felt connected to my father’s side of the family.

When I was 18 and had just graduated from high school my ‘new’ parents gave me a trip to Alaska and I went for six weeks. At that time my siblings were 12, 11, 8 and my little sister was 3 and adorable! It was fun and I had high hopes of being part of ‘their’ family. Didn’t quite work out as my Dad and his wife separated and I never saw my siblings again as they lived with their mother. My Dad doesn't seem very emotionally attached to his kids to say the least and I wasn't quite sure what to do.

At my wedding reception, I think this is cute, he gave us $$$ for our Honeymoon.

Since I was 18 I have seen him four times, one being my wedding day when he surprised me and flew down and showed up at the temple! I was thrilled and horrified at the same time!! My mother was there, my wonderful foster parents who paid for the whole thing were there and now here was my father. It was bizarre and wonderful at the same time.



Grandpa came to visit once, Kayla, Lauren, Abbie, Mitch and Rachel. He looks happy!



My little sister Amy, who was 15 at the time.

Fast forward……..during Christmas break this year Lauren made a Facebook for me. One of the first things I did was put in my long lost siblings’ names, up popped two of my brothers and my sister. I ‘friend requested’ them and within hours we were “friends”. My sister and I have talked and sort of reconnected. She’s 15 years younger and lives in Minnesota with her husband and three kids. I hope to visit her sometime. My brother Mike lives in Portland and we hope to visit him this summer. Tom, my other brother lives in Seattle. We have messaged each other and yesterday he had business in the Bay Area and I invited him to dinner and HE CAME!! 32 years since we last saw each other!

I was a little nervous wreck for 24 hours. I wished I was thinner, more beautiful, more talented. I wish I had cleaned my carpets, painted my living room, had new cabinets and counters. I prayed that my boys would be good and that I wouldn’t embarrass myself with my lack of an edit button. (which I am sure I did) I hoped that he wouldn’t be allergic to my cat, that dinner would be awesome and that he would like me.

It was absolutely one of the coolest, most wonderful experiences of my life.

My brother Tom (who thought I was 46, bless him...)

We are alike in many ways, not looks, but likes, interests, views etc…there really is something to genetics! We reminisced and shared memories, we discussed our dysfunctional father, asked questions about each other, we laughed, we teased, my kids LOVED him and it was so natural.

My heart is so full of joy because of the experience. I feel like I am floating. As wonderful as my other siblings are and I do love them, I have always, always missed these four kids. I have wondered about them, prayed for them, wished that I knew them, and now, I got to ‘meet’ one of them, and it was spectacular. I hope he becomes a regular visitor as he travels a lot with his profession and is in the Bay Area a few times a year.

I feel like a princess and I had a dream come true.