Part 6: Reuniting with my siblings
With phone number in hand and my nerves even more bundled, I dialed the number. After so many rings and no answer I got the voice mail. But leaving a voice mail saying hey, this is your long lost sister calling, please call me back just didn't seem like the right thing to do so I hung up. I decided to give it another try later. And with the fact of me still hoping and praying that this wasn't the wrong family I didn't want to make matters worse by calling and leaving a message like that.
I can't remember how many more times I may have tried calling my brother but I don't recall it being too many before I decided that it would be best to write to him. So I sent a nice letter and even sent it certified mail to ensure that he got it. So I waited patiently to hear back.
In the meantime the one Aunt contacted another Aunt and I received a phone call from that aunt. She was very excited to talk to me and I was more convinced that I was being put in contact with the correct family after speaking with her. She remembered me as well and when she heard that I was being placed for adoption she told me that she and my uncle had applied to adopt me but that it was denied because the other candidates beat them to it. She also told me that she and my uncle had adopted one of my cousins from my mothers side. She also called me and we talked.
She was my very first cousin on my mothers side that I spoke to. And the two Aunts were from my paternal side. But uh oh remember the beginning of my story and the paternity issue of me possibly not being from the same father as my older siblings? Well, I hadn't known of that issue just yet. But a few weeks passed and one day I received a phone call. When the phone rang I don't even think I was expecting it to be a family member calling but something told me that this was somebody important calling and to answer it. So I did. I had caller ID back then so when I grabbed the phone, I saw that it was a Florida call. I was so nervous.
The voice on the other end, was my sister. Oh my gosh my sister was calling me. Family had finally been able to get in touch with her to give her the message that I had been looking for them and to call me. I can still recall that message (not the entire thing) but even though that was over twenty years ago. I still remember that day. One of the first things she asked me was when my birthday was, I told her and she responded with her birthday was the same day. I was born on her ninth birthday and she was so proud. And she told me that every year she would wish me a happy birthday even though she didn't know where I was.
Another question she asked me was if I liked onions. Haha. I responded with yes, it's funny that you ask that and then I shared the onion story that I mentioned in the beginning of my story with her. She stated that most of our family liked onions. And that she loved them. So I told her about my love for onions and right after I was adopted, my mom was peeling an onion one day and she said I started begging for it so she handed it to me to see what I'd do with it. She said the next thing she knew I started biting into it like it was an apple and stood there eating it like it was nothing.
So now I know where I get my like of onions from. As well as lots of other things that I never really gave thought to. But the longer that I have known my sister the more I learn of how alike we really are. I kinda expected us to be like day and night just because that is how most siblings seem to be. But I like the fact that I have lots of similarities of my sister and I always say that I want to be just like her when I grow up.
My sister and I didn't get to grow up together but she remembers seeing me though at least once when I was with my foster parents, before I was adopted. She recalls coming to see me and holding me in her lap. As a preteen she eventually went to live with our father and brothers until she married at sixteen and left home. When she was seventeen she had her first child, a daughter and that was when I first became an aunt at the young age of eight. However I wouldn't learn of that until we first talked over the phone. She also has two sons as well. I also got to speak to my niece over the phone that day as well. And I learned that I had my very first great nephew by her. He is five months younger than my daughter.
Not long after that, my brother that I tried contacting, called me and we got to talk. I learned that I had another niece by him. I also got to talk to my other brother which is the oldest of us all. He does not have any children. I was told that our father remarried and had another son so that is when I learned that I was no longer the baby. But that was okay. They hadn't seen or talked to him though since he was thirteen years old because that is when our father passed away from a massive heart attack. After that, and beyond our baby brothers control he lost touch with my siblings.
My siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins and I finally reunited at a family reunion that was held not long after I found them. This was my paternal side though. It took many more years to finally meet with my maternal side and that was this past year at our first family reunion. I had spoken with a few mainly through Facebook and I had met a couple of first cousins a year or so prior to our family reunion.
I can't remember how many more times I may have tried calling my brother but I don't recall it being too many before I decided that it would be best to write to him. So I sent a nice letter and even sent it certified mail to ensure that he got it. So I waited patiently to hear back.
In the meantime the one Aunt contacted another Aunt and I received a phone call from that aunt. She was very excited to talk to me and I was more convinced that I was being put in contact with the correct family after speaking with her. She remembered me as well and when she heard that I was being placed for adoption she told me that she and my uncle had applied to adopt me but that it was denied because the other candidates beat them to it. She also told me that she and my uncle had adopted one of my cousins from my mothers side. She also called me and we talked.
She was my very first cousin on my mothers side that I spoke to. And the two Aunts were from my paternal side. But uh oh remember the beginning of my story and the paternity issue of me possibly not being from the same father as my older siblings? Well, I hadn't known of that issue just yet. But a few weeks passed and one day I received a phone call. When the phone rang I don't even think I was expecting it to be a family member calling but something told me that this was somebody important calling and to answer it. So I did. I had caller ID back then so when I grabbed the phone, I saw that it was a Florida call. I was so nervous.
The voice on the other end, was my sister. Oh my gosh my sister was calling me. Family had finally been able to get in touch with her to give her the message that I had been looking for them and to call me. I can still recall that message (not the entire thing) but even though that was over twenty years ago. I still remember that day. One of the first things she asked me was when my birthday was, I told her and she responded with her birthday was the same day. I was born on her ninth birthday and she was so proud. And she told me that every year she would wish me a happy birthday even though she didn't know where I was.
Another question she asked me was if I liked onions. Haha. I responded with yes, it's funny that you ask that and then I shared the onion story that I mentioned in the beginning of my story with her. She stated that most of our family liked onions. And that she loved them. So I told her about my love for onions and right after I was adopted, my mom was peeling an onion one day and she said I started begging for it so she handed it to me to see what I'd do with it. She said the next thing she knew I started biting into it like it was an apple and stood there eating it like it was nothing.
So now I know where I get my like of onions from. As well as lots of other things that I never really gave thought to. But the longer that I have known my sister the more I learn of how alike we really are. I kinda expected us to be like day and night just because that is how most siblings seem to be. But I like the fact that I have lots of similarities of my sister and I always say that I want to be just like her when I grow up.
My sister and I didn't get to grow up together but she remembers seeing me though at least once when I was with my foster parents, before I was adopted. She recalls coming to see me and holding me in her lap. As a preteen she eventually went to live with our father and brothers until she married at sixteen and left home. When she was seventeen she had her first child, a daughter and that was when I first became an aunt at the young age of eight. However I wouldn't learn of that until we first talked over the phone. She also has two sons as well. I also got to speak to my niece over the phone that day as well. And I learned that I had my very first great nephew by her. He is five months younger than my daughter.
Not long after that, my brother that I tried contacting, called me and we got to talk. I learned that I had another niece by him. I also got to talk to my other brother which is the oldest of us all. He does not have any children. I was told that our father remarried and had another son so that is when I learned that I was no longer the baby. But that was okay. They hadn't seen or talked to him though since he was thirteen years old because that is when our father passed away from a massive heart attack. After that, and beyond our baby brothers control he lost touch with my siblings.
My siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins and I finally reunited at a family reunion that was held not long after I found them. This was my paternal side though. It took many more years to finally meet with my maternal side and that was this past year at our first family reunion. I had spoken with a few mainly through Facebook and I had met a couple of first cousins a year or so prior to our family reunion.
My 3 older siblings and I
This is Part 6 of many parts!
There are more parts to come!
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