I am going to Utah for the first time in June. I'm so excited, because I will be getting to see a lot of family that I've never met. This trip is going to be bitter sweet though. My grandmother passed away a couple of months ago. Her funeral was the first time I ever got to meet my uncles, great aunt, and cousins. We also found out shortly after Grandma passed away that she had another daughter that she gave up for adoption. Her name is Janiel. We found letters while going through her things and thought that she had a pen pal. I found the person and her children on Facebook (Facebook is amazing!). I contacted the lady's daughter, Kori, and this whole long hidden secret emerged. Now I know what type of person my Grandma was. She had lived a very hard life and had lived through so many hard circumstances. She loved children and her family. I can't imagine the agony she went through when making the decision to give up a child and to keep this to herself forever. She never had to go through this alone and I wish she had just told us. I'm not really sure why she didn't, but when I put myself in her shoes, I can actually feel the pain that she must have felt for all those years.
I feel so blessed that Janiel and her whole family has been so open to getting to know us and allowing us to get to know them. It's going to be painful to go to Utah, because my Grandmother visited family there every year and I always wanted to go with her. But I am so excited to meet this whole new family that I never knew I had. I love you Grandma and miss you every day that you are gone.
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