Here We Go.......

We have all experienced a strange and difficult year. Playing retrospect, I would never have anticipated the last fifteen months of my life. It’s an interesting timeline. December 31, 2019: My mother died. January 10, 2020: I receive an email from a woman that I have been searching for, for most of my life. February 2020: Italy closes its borders due to a virus spread. March 2020: The United States closes down due to a virus spread....and now the rest seems incidental. Earthquakes, fires, riots and unrest. That happened but let’s go back to January. That is where this story begins.

I have previously written about the amazing women in my life. One of those women gave birth to me and then never saw me again. Advances in technology and the ability to collect DNA have allowed us new ways to track our genealogy. My first leap into the unknown was with my friend who makes me pretty, Kelly. She excitedly entered my information into the website and searched the results with me. Since the first leap, I’ve spit into a small vile on numerous occasions and waited for the results. Hoping to find the one, mysterious person that made me possible. I have up to 600 relative matches on some sites. Never have the matches been more than third or fourth cousins. One time, I found a second cousin. 

Then, in late fall 2019, amidst the chaos of the holidays and family, I received a message on one of genealogy websites. A first cousin responded to a message I sent and helped me make contact with my sister and my birth mother. I had a lot going on in my world. A new private practice, holiday events with family and church, caring for Offspring and spouse. Retrospect, I had no idea the speed of the train I had just boarded. 

December 16, 2019: Text from Mom: Your father is taking me to UofU hospital. Insta-care thinks I need to go straight to the ER. I’m texting you but don’t worry. It’s fine. Don’t tell your aunt. 

December 17, 2019: Text from Mom: I am having emergency gall bladder surgery. It’s fine. Don’t worry.

December 18, 2019: Text from my Brother: Mom is being moved to Hunstman. She went into A-fib. They want to do a bone-marrow biopsy.

It doesn’t improve from that point. I ran out of tears at some point in the process. Then, she finished on New Year’s Eve. 

At some point in the chaos I told my mother that I had located a cousin and might be able to find my birth mother. Her eyes lit up and she made me promise to meet her. Phew, yeah, that happened. 

January 10, 2020: I am sitting at my kitchen table, hunched over a computer with my friend and marketing help, Amanda. An Email alert appears on the screen. 

        Hi Nicole (if it’s still Nicole). My name is Michelle, I might be your half sister.....

And so it began. An email, exchange of mobile numbers, texts and a phone call. A meeting was planned and then it was canceled. Then, it was planned again. 

I’ve spent the year calling and FaceTiming. Hours of talking and laughing and crying and finally, it’s planned again and off I go. I can’t take the most important players in this story with me on my journey, so I will write about it and share the pictures. 

Here we go........