It Was The Best Of Times...As I sit here and think about this prompt, I can't help but reflect back over my life. There are many great things about my life, and many things that were not, but the Best? Well, I suppose it could be when I was adopted at five...that was pretty great, or meeting my grandparents for the first time, also great. The birth of my children? Amazingly great, marrying the love of my life? Also amazingly great...so what then?
Well, during the last prompt, I mentioned that I was a daughter to TWO sets of parents, and many of you asked me to tell you that story. This story was 25 years in the making...I was adopted when I was five, a fact that was never hidden from me, if fact I remember it well. The part that is 25 years in the making, is finding my birth parents.
There are a lot of adoptees that long for knowledge about who they are, and where they came from. I always knew that I wanted to find my birth mother, I had carried her name, and the details of my birth, all through school. I NEEDED to know who she was, I needed to know where I had come from, and have all the answers to the questions that everyone else could answer so easily when asked...who do you look like, where did you get your smile, whats the meaning behind your name, etc.
Well, lets fast forward a bit, and get to the year 2000, I met my now husband, and had told him all about my search, and how I had been hitting brick wall, after brick wall. After all, when you search a name, and it comes back with over 3000 hits, its hard to narrow it down. He pushed me to never give up, so I kept trying.
2007, and I had just given birth to my son, and the search had grown cold...I had even attempted to contact my maternal grandmother, but the phone call was met by an answering machine on her end, and cold feet about leaving a message, on mine.
2011, I was pregnant with my daughter, whom I had already decided would be named after my birth mother...I picked up the search again. First stop? trying the number to my maternal grandmother again. This time, she picked up! I asked the question that I had practiced over and over again in my head..."are you any relation to Vicki" When she said that yes, Vicki was her oldest daughter, I thought my heart was going to stop. I told her who I was, and I think at that point hers probably skipped a beat or two, she immediately started crying, and said she could not believe it. She had been praying for this day since my 18th birthday.
Well, we talked for what seemed like forever, and she said she had no idea where to find my mother, but that I could contact my aunt, and that she might know. So, here I was, getting ready to reach out to an Aunt in Florida, just a short time after connecting with my birth family for the first time in 25 years. I called my Aunt in Florida, and after many tears, she helped me with a few details...the fact that my mother had three kids, and had been married. So with a new last name,a new state, and the name of 3 new siblings, I did what anyone would do...I started searching Facebook!
It wasn't long before I found who I suspected were my siblings, and after running the names past my Aunt, she agreed that they sounded familiar. Next up, hunt down a phone number...I called everyone I knew with that last name, and after getting many NOs, I was given a new last name (she was remarried) So, I searched for Vicki with the new last name, and up popped a couple of numbers. I started with the first one, and the phone was answered almost immediately.
My hands were sweating, and my heart was pounding, as I asked for my mother. The guy on the other end said "Let me guess, she is your mother" Now, that took me for a loop...was he being funny? So, I replied, " well, actually, Yes, I believe she is" and he said something I will never forget... "well, I guess that makes me your brother!"
As it turns out, my mother had always told my two sisters and brother that I existed, so when my name popped up on the caller ID, he knew exactly who I was. He gave me her cell number, and when I called, we just meshed. It was like no time had ever passed, we were talking like we had been doing it every day for 25 years.
We spent several days, talking for hours, then finally she made plans to come with one of my sisters, all the way to Texas to be here for the birth of my daughter. I got to meet my mom, and one of my sisters for the first time, and just in time for my baby girl to make her appearance (actually she came the night they had to leave...shes stubborn like that!)
During that time, she helped me locate my birth father and his family...which added a slew of aunts, uncles, cousins, and 3 more siblings. So, there you have it...in a nutshell!
I now have two sets of parents...the ones that made me, and the ones that raised me, and I couldn't ask for more. I love my parents, ALL of my parents, with all that I am. Life has been interesting, lots of ups, lots of downs, but in the end, coming together with all of them has been amazing. It truly was the best of times...that day in 2011, changed my life.
*Pictures coming soon!*
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