So much has happened since I started not only this journey, but this blog as well. Using Ancestry.com, I've made multiple connections with others, and have met some of my birth family online. After connecting with my birth father's family, I was invited to the family reunion, in VA.
The days leading up to the trip, I was a bit nervous. What if they don't like me? What if I don't like them? What if my information was incorrect, and they're not my family? I practically what if'd myself to death! I got to VA, and my cousin Valerie picked me up from the airport; the way she grabbed me & hugged me, you'd have thought that we'd known each other all our lives!
On the night of the meet & greet, I sat down at one of the tables, and was repeatedly hugged, kissed, greeted, and made to feel right at home. My case of the what if's all but disappeared. Just when I'd finally gotten comfortable, the reunion committee walks up to the mic, introduced themselves, gave us a bit of family history, and then I hear them telling a story that sounded all so familiar; they were talking about me! Suddenly my name is called, and I am asked to come up and say a few words.
Walking to the podium thinking, "Please don't let me trip, please don't let me trip," I took the mic from my cousin, held onto the podium for dear life, and began to tell my story, and how I wound up standing in a room full of my relatives in South Hill, VA. My voice wavered a bit as I started to tell the story of how I used Ancestry, and how it connected me to a family member, who started connecting me to others; I also explained to them why my search was so important to me.
As I concluded my speech, I looked out at a sea of faces, who looked like me, and it dawned on me. "I did it; my Daddy would be proud!" With tears in my eyes, and a smile on my face, I gazed at the crowd lovingly, and knew that I was finally home!
