For those that have read my posts in the past, you know I've always wanted a big brother. I have one. I met him on March 20, 2011. The connection with him is something I never expected.
I have asked and he has given me permission to use his name, so he will no longer be known as JB.. He is now Jacob. My birth mother formally known as S has given me permission to use her first name as well. She will now be known as Sandra.
We'll start from the beginning. Jacob, Shelly (Jacob's fiance,) and Sandra all came up for a visit. Jacob hadn't seen Sandra in I think 22 years. I'm not going to tell his story because it is his to tell. Not mine.
I remember I called them about 5 times in an hour and a half. I was so paranoid cause me and mom were trying to get the house cleaned, and we still hadn't gotten ready! I called and Sandra said they were in Harrisonville. That is only about 40 minutes from my house. They had made it from Arkansas to Missouri in about 5 1/2 hours. We had gotten the house cleaned, and I told mom I was going to do my hair and makeup. I did my makeup and my hair, and she was still cleaning the kitchen. I then washed her hair for her in the sink, and she got changed. They were there 5 minutes after we got done. Luckily, dinner wasn't for another hour. I asked mom to video our reunion. She messed up the video though, but it is ok. I will always remember that meeting. I saw the car pull up, and I yelled at mom to get over to the door. I had stepped on glass a few days before, but I still managed to limp/run over to Jacob. We hugged for what felt like five minutes. I had a permanent smile glued to my face, and my cheeks started to hurt. I finally had the brother I always wanted.
We got introductions out of the way, and we started visiting. That is when A (half sister) got there. They hugged, and then we started taking pictures. Sandra and I got caught up, and then we went to dinner. We went to GoJo's Steakhouse. It was the same place Anna and I had met. It seemed fitting. Sandra, my mom, step-dad, son, A, her fiance, Jacob, Shelly, and I all went there. It is an amazing Japanese steakhouse. We ate dinner, and we laughed and talked. It was a little hard to hear each other, but we got to talk a bit more in the car since Jacob, Sandra, and Shelly all rode with me.
Most things are a blur for me, like what days what things happened and such. Sandra's sister came over and so did her husband. Our cousin was also there. I can't remember if that was the first night or the second night. I think it was the second night. I think it was great for Jacob because they filled in some memories for him.
The third day we went to A's house, and she showed Jacob and Shelly the land that her and her fiance live on. We rented and watched The Fighter, and we all talked. It was a chilly and somewhat rainy day outside, but it didn't matter. We still walked around talking and having fun. Jacob and A's fiance seemed to get along really great. It's always good when a sibling gets along with your significant other. It makes things a lot easier. We ended up heading back to my mom's house because she had made a special meal for everybody. She made pork tenderloin, baked potatoes, broccoli and cheese, and salad. I noticed then that Jacob and I had one weird thing in common. We both ate our broccoli and cheese first, then munched on salad, then the potato, then he ate meat (I didn't get any,) and then the rest of the salad. The funny part was after all of that we both ate the rest of our potato, skin and all! Nobody else in my family does that, so it was funny to me.
The next night we all went out to the casino. It was a great time, but you could feel the sadness in the air because they were going to leave the next day. Our cousin and her boyfriend were the only ones to win, but I didn't care. We left the casino, and Shelly got a picture of Jacob and me in a phone booth. We were walking out to the car, and you could tell something was wrong with Jacob. Shelly and I just kept looking at him, but he said he didn't want to talk about it. That is when he decided that they were staying longer.
The rest of the time we stayed in and hung out. We got to talk a lot, and we got to know each other better. I'm probably getting a lot of the things confused, but I really don't care about that.
The most important part to me is that this is the strongest connection I have made so far. We are alike in so many different ways. My heart finally feels full because it feels like that part that was missing is finally complete. I know I still have other siblings to meet, but I'm just so happy that this reunion has gone so well. My husband has said that he hasn't seen me this happy in a long time.
I have so many more stories to tell, but those will have to be saved for another time. I will also try and keep up with this blog more because I really want to remember everything I can.
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