This entire post will be devoted to the topic. The whole thing. All of it.
As you all know (because you read my last post and because all of you also read my Facebook) I sent a contact letter to a potential half-sister in Texas last week. I kept everything crossed and hoped for the best.
I figured, at best, she wouldn’t scream at me – I figured there’d be some denial, maybe a little slamming of the birth mom, even some generalized frustration.
I am happy to report, none of that happened. It started something like this:
At 12:56 PM, I decided I needed to reboot my phone because it was acting wonky and being all slow. At 12:56 and thirty seconds (note, 30 seconds after I powered down my phone) she called.
At 12:58 PM, my phone comes back up and there, on my display, is her number (which I had already memorized). I looked at Chuck and said, “THIS IS NOT HAPPENING! SHE CALLED WHILE I WAS REBOOTING MY PHONE!!”
So, I go to the voicemail screen and see that she left a message, to which I listen to, twice. Then, I put it on speaker and listen to it again. Twice. Chuck is listening too. We both agree, she doesn’t sound like she’s recently obtained a concealed weapons permit and is waiting in the parking lot.
Her message was nice, she sounded nice. She said she’d be home around 5:30 or 6 and to give her a call.
642 hours later (Ok, it just felt like 642 hours) I get home and give her a call.
She answers, I say, “Hi, may I speak to Angie please?” She replies, “This is Angie” and I said, “This is Brandy, I guess you got my letter?” and she said, “Yes, I did, are you a sister?”
Those words – I’ll never forget them. Are you a sister. Heck yes I’m a sister!
Do you know how much easier this made the call. I was so freaked out that I was going to be calling and sharing with her that her dad had cheated on her mom and *poof* it’s a girl! Apparently, he was quite the ladies man. A number of marriages and as far as she knows, only 3 girls (well, four if you count me).
She shared some really hard stuff to hear – but I sort of suspected most of it based on my research, stories I’d heard and just ‘gut’ – I don’t care what people tell you, there is some gut involved…I don’t know how, but my gut wasn’t wrong.
She was super nice. I mean – of course she’s super nice, she’s my sister – and you all know *I* am super nice, yes? Ok then. But beyond that – she was great. We talked about growing up, where I lived, where she lived, ironic that at one point we lived not even half a mile from each other. She has two kids, a daughter who shares my name and a son.
I’m not sure I asked everything I should have asked – but we talked for almost an hour and in the end, we agreed that we’d continue to be in contact.
She is, sadly, one of the last people on the face of the earth without a computer in her home – but she has email access at work and promised to keep in contact that way. I am going to email in a bit and send her some links to some pictures.
It was super awesome. I am so happy that I finally decided to reach out. I did tell her that I was worried about it being so close to the holidays – I felt it could go one of two ways, but at this point, I kind of felt it was going good – so I was glad at least in that regard.
I did learn some interesting stuff – and while I’m still trying to process it all, it really does help to know more about where I come from. She’s really excited about seeing a picture of me, because I told her what I looked like and she said, “You look like daddy!”.
Wow. Just wow.
This is overwhelming, amazing and just awesome. Maybe I’ll write more, as I process, and share more about how I’m feeling. Right now, I just feel warm and complete. I didn’t even feel incomplete before – but I feel more completeness – if that makes any sense at all.
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I’m so happy for you, Brandy!!!! Is she going to send pictures, too?