A great big pickle...sigh.

[Minnie&Nana]

 

[Cee]

AKL is worth it just to eat at BOMA.

 

[LuvvsMickey]

I'm sorry folks. I thought ya'll would be gone for the weekend.

 

[Grace&Carolinesmom]

Been off the boards a few days and just read the chapter....such a beautiful reunion Hangin in jammies, playin cards, and laughing sounds like the BEST TIME EVER! althoough I am more of a spades player myself... Kinda reminds me of the time we got snowed in (which could have been only 3 inches in the south tehehe) when I was in the 3rd grade,brothers were 4th and 7th grade. We hung out in our jammies and my Dad taught us how to play poker and we used leggos as poker chips. It was AWESOME. Great memory. My Mom was NOT a happy southern mom that Dad was teaching us poker. but she took out her frustrations in the kitchen making a big ol meal of pot roast....MMMmmm pot roast with taters and carrots and gravy and rice and green beans and.........

Waiting for another pickle chapter

 

[LuvvsMickey]

Ok....now I have to make pot roast for supper. Complete with apple pie. Yum!

Ha. Hubby taught our kids how to play poker as well. Stinker.

 

[LuvvsMickey]

Well, that's just odd.

 

[LuvvsMickey]

We left on a Thursday and were going to arrive around 7am on Friday. We were staying at his sister’s house and were planning to surprise her by showing up before she left for work. But, we got detoured and the drive took us longer than we anticipated. Bummer. Let me first say, these people like to eat! OMG, there was no shortage of food or booze at this place. The weather was perfect. We went boating, we lounged by the water, shopped and met I don’t know how many people. EVERYONE wanted to meet us. They all had a memory of DH and shared it with us when we met them. It was amazing but extremely overwhelming. It felt like we were on display at times and that was a bit unnerving.

The reunion was planned at this huge fancy schmancy restaurant. We basically had the entire place to ourselves. The drive there seemed to take forever. Everyone was outside on the terrace, talking and having drinks. In the car were hubby and I, his sister, her hubby, and MIL. We were met by a bunch of aunts, uncles and cousins. It was SO overwhelming. First up, was hubby’s brother. The only memory he has of him was the two of them playing with toy cars in a driveway when they were very young. They do have some resemblance, but not a lot. They hugged and pretty sure I saw a couple of tears. He gave hubby a coin. His words were, “I’ve been waiting all my life to give you this. I hope it means as much to you as it does to me.” On one side of the coin it says, “BROTHER.” On the other side is written, “You are my brother, you are my friend, my bond with you will never end.” Sniff. Thank goodness hubby waited until he had a moment to himself to look at it.

Next up was his father. Hubby had many reservations about meeting his father, due to the stories he had heard and also some things that his mother told him. Yes they were young when all of this happened. He made some bad choices. Hubby never understood how a father could abandon his children and not fight for them when times were tough. He wasn’t sure what he would think of his dad, but, it was not his place to judge. My hubby has a huge heart. As the saying goes, never judge a person unless you’ve walked a mile in their shoes. So true, right? Would you believe his parents remained friends all these years and actually still get together once in awhile to play cards!? He actually teases her and asks her to marry him again all the time. She just laughs and calls him a crazy old fool. It’s so cute to see them together. Anyhow, his father was more nervous than hubby was. He was so afraid that he would be rejected. Hubby just stood there with arms wide open! They hugged for a long time. Hubby started sobbing, I started sobbing, his siblings... gah. It was a big ol’ blubberfest! All I heard his father say was, “I’m so sorry for everything, son.” Hubby just told him that the past is the past and that is where it will stay. This is our chance for a new beginning. YEAH! We ate, we talked, and planned the next visit. There would be no shortage of places to hang our hats! What an exhausting evening for everyone. We slept like babies that night.

The rest of the trip was spent visiting with siblings, half siblings and aunts and uncles. It was a whirlwind week, that’s for sure. The night before we were to leave, we spent with his mom, dad and cousin. She has CP and hubby’s dad looks out for her quite a bit. We were going to her place to, what else? Play cards! With his mom and dad! Crazy. We parked the car a couple of blocks from the apartment and started walking. Hubby’s parents were walking in front of us and hubby took my hand. I looked at him and pointed to his parents in front of him. I said, “hun, that’s your mom and dad! Did you ever think you would be walking down the street behind your parents?” He said, “not in a million years...”

The goodbyes were heart wrenching. There were lots of hugs, tears and exchange of addresses and phone numbers. But, it turns out we would be back sooner than we thought...

 

[KatMark]

Each chapter just continues to warm my heart and bring a tear to my eye. I am so glad you decided to share this with us goofy people on the DIS!

 

[karibritt01]

 

[Piglets Mommy]

This is so awesome! Thank You for sharing it with us!

 

[LuvvsMickey]

Aww. I wasn't sure if the excitement had worn off or not. Glad you enjoy it. I do tend to talk in circles a lot. Actually, my life spins in circles. Imagine. LOL Almost done the story...don't worry! Jabber jaws will settle down soon. hehe

 

[Grace&Carolinesmom]

Just tuned in. Great chapter. Been busy the last 2 days.

It is so nice to hear there have been no hard feelings and everyone seems to have an open heart to the here and now. Kinda makes me all warm and fuzzy inside......

 

[KatMark]

Waiting patiently for Chapter 6.

 

[LuvvsMickey]

It turns out that the sister that hubby was so fond of lives in Los Angeles. We always thought she was a nurse living in the area where they grew up. No wonder we couldn’t find her! Not much is known about her either. She is quite skittish. When the two were separated, she went to live with an aunt and uncle for a few years and hubby was placed with a minister and his wife. MIL says that she would hear from her (by phone) sporadically and then she’d disappear for months and her phone number would be disconnected. This is so very odd but sure makes sense later on. There was no way for us to get a hold of her until she called someone. Well, the day came. MIL told her all about hubby being found and mentioned that he’s been looking for her all of his life. Can we have her phone number? She gave it. OMG! Hubby was a basket case. Given her history of disappearing and being mysterious, he didn’t know what to think. I thought he would call her right away, but he actually waited a couple of days.

Hubby makes the call. Let me tell you, this woman talks a mile a minute. It’s exhausting just listening to her! They talked about their childhoods and shared memories. Each would have a different memory and when mentioned would trigger the memory for the other. It was uncanny. She left the aunt and uncle’s home as a young teen because of rebellion issues. She had a real hate on for the world. She went to live at a nurse’s dorm for awhile and then moved to the USA at age seventeen. So THAT’S where the nurse idea came from! Funny how a story can get twisted. She started off in New York and said she couldn’t take the winters anymore so she moved to LA. She has a 10 year old daughter and never married. Hubby told her his life story and also mentioned how he had searched for her over the years. A part of his life was still missing until her found her. She couldn’t believe it. They talked every week for several months. A dream come true – he had finally found her.

She is terrified to fly so we knew that seeing her would never happen unless we went to her. They talked and planned and finally agreed that hubby would fly out to LA to see her for a week last September. She said that she was her own boss and could take vacation whenever she wanted so all we had to do was pick the date. I decided that I would stay home with DD and the critters. Well, that was short lived as the more I thought about it, the more I felt that I should be there for hubby in case something happened. What if she stood him up at the airport, hated him, or who knows what? Arrangements were made for my parents to stay with DD and the critters. A couple of weeks before we were set to leave, my mom had some kind of spell and ended up in CICU for two weeks. She had to get a pacemaker put in and while they did it, they punctured her lung. What a freaking nightmare. So, we had to cancel the trip for the following month. Stupid me didn’t buy insurance so I couldn’t get my money back from the airline tickets – I could only get a credit and pay a penalty and any difference in airfare to change the dates. $200 please. Grrr. SIL was disappointed but understood and was excited that I would now be going with hubby.

Having never been to California in my life, I had no clue what to pack for weather in October. I must have packed and unpacked half a dozen times. SIL’s daughter was SO excited that we were coming to visit. It’s just the two of them out there in LA – she has no family and not many friends by the sounds of things. Her daughter would always get on the other phone and interrupt their conversations. She talks just as fast as her mother! During one conversation with hubby she asked him, Uncle M, “will you be my daddy while you are out here?” Ouch. Talk about heartbreaking. I told her we would be taking her to Disneyland (there it is!!) and going on a couple of road trips. She was over the moon. So was I...I lubs me some MICKEY!!!!! Woo hoo!

We were leaving on Thursday. Tuesday night as I was crawling into bed, the phone rings. It’s SIL. She starts off with, “I’m soooooo sorry.” OMG, what?! She says she has to work and won’t be able to see us as planned. Um, what? What do you mean you have to work!? You said you were your own boss and could take time whenever you wanted. She started babbling about something – I had tuned her out after I heard the words “cancel the trip,” so I have no idea what she was talking about. I told her I had to go (because I was about to go right through the phone) and call hubby to tell him the bad news. My head was spinning, $$$ flashing before my eyes, oh my gosh, what was hubby going to say? Two days before we were to fly out to LA, SIL backs out. Looking back, we should have known this was too good to be true. She has been known to tell lies and stories and pretty much everything about her is sketchy. I was heartbroken for hubby. He was absolutely crushed. We were warned by other family members what she was like. For some reason, hubby thought that finding each other would renew faith and hope for her. I guess not. No one knows what she does for a living. It’s a different story every time you talk to her. We do know her address is legit as we have sent mail and gifts. Since this fiasco, hubby went from talking weekly with her to talking to her maybe five times since. I feel awful for her little girl.

So, airline tickets were canceled again and they must be used by the end of August this year. $200 please and any change in airfare. These tickets are getting pretty darned expensive. They are up over $2000 now. So, we now have a week holidays booked and nowhere to go. It's October. Where in the world are we going to go in October on two days notice? We called up hubby’s mom and sister and told them what happened. They were LIVID. What to do with our vacation? You’ll never guess where we decided to go...

 

[KatMark]

It turns out that the sister that hubby was so fond of lives in Los Angeles. We always thought she was a nurse living in the area where they grew up. No wonder we couldn’t find her! Not much is known about her either. She is quite skittish. When the two were separated, she went to live with an aunt and uncle for a few years and hubby was placed with a minister and his wife. MIL says that she would hear from her (by phone) sporadically and then she’d disappear for months and her phone number would be disconnected. This is so very odd but sure makes sense later on. There was no way for us to get a hold of her until she called someone. Well, the day came. MIL told her all about hubby being found and mentioned that he’s been looking for her all of his life. Can we have her phone number? She gave it. OMG! Hubby was a basket case. Given her history of disappearing and being mysterious, he didn’t know what to think. I thought he would call her right away, but he actually waited a couple of days.

Hubby makes the call. Let me tell you, this woman talks a mile a minute. It’s exhausting just listening to her! They talked about their childhoods and shared memories. Each would have a different memory and when mentioned would trigger the memory for the other. It was uncanny. She left the aunt and uncle’s home as a young teen because of rebellion issues. She had a real hate on for the world. She went to live at a nurse’s dorm for awhile and then moved to the USA at age seventeen. So THAT’S where the nurse idea came from! Funny how a story can get twisted. She started off in New York and said she couldn’t take the winters anymore so she moved to LA. She has a 10 year old daughter and never married. Hubby told her his life story and also mentioned how he had searched for her over the years. A part of his life was still missing until her found her. She couldn’t believe it. They talked every week for several months. A dream come true – he had finally found her.

She is terrified to fly so we knew that seeing her would never happen unless we went to her. They talked and planned and finally agreed that hubby would fly out to LA to see her for a week last September. She said that she was her own boss and could take vacation whenever she wanted so all we had to do was pick the date. I decided that I would stay home with DD and the critters. Well, that was short lived as the more I thought about it, the more I felt that I should be there for hubby in case something happened. What if she stood him up at the airport, hated him, or who knows what? Arrangements were made for my parents to stay with DD and the critters. A couple of weeks before we were set to leave, my mom had some kind of spell and ended up in CICU for two weeks. She had to get a pacemaker put in and while they did it, they punctured her lung. What a freaking nightmare. So, we had to cancel the trip for the following month. Stupid me didn’t buy insurance so I couldn’t get my money back from the airline tickets – I could only get a credit and pay a penalty and any difference in airfare to change the dates. $200 please. Grrr. SIL was disappointed but understood and was excited that I would now be going with hubby.

Having never been to California in my life, I had no clue what to pack for weather in October. I must have packed and unpacked half a dozen times. SIL’s daughter was SO excited that we were coming to visit. It’s just the two of them out there in LA – she has no family and not many friends by the sounds of things. Her daughter would always get on the other phone and interrupt their conversations. She talks just as fast as her mother! During one conversation with hubby she asked him, Uncle M, “will you be my daddy while you are out here?” Ouch. Talk about heartbreaking. I told her we would be taking her to Disneyland (there it is!!) and going on a couple of road trips. She was over the moon. So was I...I lubs me some MICKEY!!!!! Woo hoo!

We were leaving on Thursday. Tuesday night as I was crawling into bed, the phone rings. It’s SIL. She starts off with, “I’m soooooo sorry.” OMG, what?! She says she has to work and won’t be able to see us as planned. Um, what? What do you mean you have to work!? You said you were your own boss and could take time whenever you wanted. She started babbling about something – I had tuned her out after I heard the words “cancel the trip,” so I have no idea what she was talking about. I told her I had to go (because I was about to go right through the phone) and call hubby to tell him the bad news. My head was spinning, $$$ flashing before my eyes, oh my gosh, what was hubby going to say? Two days before we were to fly out to LA, SIL backs out. Looking back, we should have known this was too good to be true. She has been known to tell lies and stories and pretty much everything about her is sketchy. I was heartbroken for hubby. He was absolutely crushed. We were warned by other family members what she was like. For some reason, hubby thought that finding each other would renew faith and hope for her. I guess not. No one knows what she does for a living. It’s a different story every time you talk to her. We do know her address is legit as we have sent mail and gifts. Since this fiasco, hubby went from talking weekly with her to talking to her maybe five times since. I feel awful for her little girl.

So, airline tickets were canceled again and they must be used by the end of August this year. $200 please and any change in airfare. These tickets are getting pretty darned expensive. They are up over $2000 now. So, we now have a week holidays booked and nowhere to go. It's October. Where in the world are we going to go in October on two days notice? We called up hubby’s mom and sister and told them what happened. They were LIVID. What to do with our vacation? You’ll never guess where we decided to go...

Let me see? Daytona Beach? Grand Canyon? No, no, it must be DISNEY WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm sorry your hubby had to go thru this with his sister. She obviously has some deep issues she is dealing with. And you are a dear to support him through all of this.

 

[Piglets Mommy]

That stinks that she cancelled on you. I can't wait to hear where you went though....

 

[karibritt01]

That stinks that she cancelled on you. I can't wait to hear where you went though....

Silly... its WDW in 44 days!

Sorry that your SIL didn't go through with the trip. Sounds like lots of issues there. Next time just go to LA and have your vacation, and call her while there about meeting for dinner. Maybe it was the stress leading up to the reunion that got to her?

I know you will have a wonderful time in WDW though. I SO want to be there this Oct. DH and I were discussing it last night, but there is just no way to swing it right now.

 

[Piglets Mommy]

Silly... its WDW in 44 days!

Oh... I was thinking that she meant she was still figuring out where to go to use the vacation days they had in Oct. to go see SIL....sorry...blonde moment.

 

[LuvvsMickey]

Sorry that your SIL didn't go through with the trip. Sounds like lots of issues there. Next time just go to LA and have your vacation, and call her while there about meeting for dinner. Maybe it was the stress leading up to the reunion that got to her?

I know you will have a wonderful time in WDW though. I SO want to be there this Oct. DH and I were discussing it last night, but there is just no way to swing it right now.

Honestly? We think that she's probably a struggling single mother, (her choice - she told us she got pregnant on purpose) living in the not so nice part of town and is embarrassed. (her daughter has said a few things during conversation that leads us to believe this) Hubby has told her that he doesn't care if she lives in a tin can. She is his sister and he wants to meet her. She does have issues. She certainly is a habitual liar. She has told us many times that she has mailed pictures, gifts, will send emails... I don't think she can keep her stories straight, really. It's too bad. We don't want anything - only to love her.

I'm sorry your trip is a bust this year. Seems common these days. Stinks. And yeah... ZOMG!!! 44 days.

 

[LuvvsMickey]

Oh... I was thinking that she meant she was still figuring out where to go to use the vacation days they had in Oct. to go see SIL....sorry...blonde moment.

No blonde moment! You are correct. Cookie for you!