Back to the story about my DNA.
We waited for a few more days after receiving the picture. But really in the grand scheme of things, what was a few more days? After all, I waited this long to take the test. The passing of time was so hard. It was all I could think about. I’d flip back and forth between the picture she sent and the pictures of my Dad, my brother and I. Where were we similar, where were we different. It was amazing. I’d have the same conversation in my head over and over.
For my ADHD hyperfocused brain, April 3, 2017, changed my life forever. With just one email. I now know where I come from. And here is what I found out.
Today is going to be one of the best days of my life. I have received permission to provide you and Peter with everything you want to know.
The man in the photo is your father’s uncle and from now on you may refer to me as either “Ma Tante” or Aunt Kay. French or English, whichever you like.
Now the hard part. Your grandmother, my sister, died last year in Enfield, CT. Her name is Rena Mae (Corbin) Emonds and you can google her Obituary. The obit will answer some of your questions.
Now I will close so my husband and I can put together a more in depth look
at our family.
Love,
Aunt Kay
P.S. I’ve attached a photo of your grandmother.
Say what?!! Oh my goodness, OMG, Wow, Yay…all the emotions. I know her name. I know what she looks like. We have the same mole on our chin. She did have a family. She had three daughters (Christmas on Silver Spoons!). She had a husband for over 60 years. She lived 30 minutes away from where I grew up. She lived 30 minutes from where my dad grew up. She lived until 8 months before I knew who she was. She will never say my name. She will never make me feel as special as my Grandma Roz made me feel.
Wait, a half-hour from my house? Enfield, CT. I got off the Interstate 91 in Enfield almost once a month for most of the high school (to get to Longmeadow to visit the boys of Samson AZA). She worked at Caldor. We went to Caldor all the time! Did I ever run into her? Did she know about us? My dad was an electrician in the area, did he ever do work in their house?
All of these thoughts happened in about 15 seconds and then I started to cry. I have cried a lot since learning this simple fact, my biological Grandmother was Rena Mae Corbin Edmonds. Is her hair red? I can’t tell. I have so many questions.
I read her obituary a few times that night. She worked at Caldor, at a store that we probably went to. If you look at the area that my dad lived on a map, she was never very far away. He always lived in Connecticut and only recently moved to Florida. She lived in Enfield, dad lived in West Hartford, Windsor, and Hartford. He was an electrician. Michelson Electrical Contractors Inc. Did he ever do work on her store, or could he have been called to her house for a job? Would they have known each other if they met?
Wait, she had a husband and kids. Why did Kay tell me otherwise in her original emails? I am so excited! I am so happy to have a face, a name and some insight into who she was.
My redhead is Stella Robyn, you remember, the whole reason I started this. In our family tradition, we name our children for family or friends who have died and that we hope our children may emulate. Stella was Grandma Roz’s sister, and the S was also for Seth’s great-uncle, Sol. Robyn is for Seth’s cousin Robin who died very young and was close with Seth (also happened to be a redhead). But the R was mostly for Grandma Roz and Seth’s Grandma Rita…Seth and I both held our grandma’s on a pedestal that reminded us of love and kindness. I find it tear-inducing to think that now the R can also be for Rena. Sometimes the universe is amazing.
I’m going to go cry some more.
Where Does That Red Hair Come From? 