The next night, I was anxiously awaiting 6:00 p.m. so I could call her and make sure this was real. Part of me was afraid it was all a wonderful dream. At 5:50 the phone rang and she said, "Hello, Karen. This is Shirley." Then she giggled. It was so cute. I thought, "Wow, I love this person. How strange and wonderful at the same time. She had told Madison and Faith about me. They were excited to know me. What a gift! I wanted brothers and sisters so desperately when I was a little girl. I talked to Faith for a long time. It was great to finally have a biological sister I could relate to. We too were at ease with one another. I opened up to her about things that even my closest friends do not know. She asked if I have dimples. When I told her I do, she asked if I had big blue eyes also. I said no, my eyes are green. She said, "Good. I was going to be mad if you got the dimples AND the blue eyes!" How cute that was. She said she hoped they did not smother me when I visit, and I thought, "Oh, go ahead. Smother me. I can take it!" I have been so starved for unconditional love from my own family and here I have a whole new group of virtual strangers sharing their life with me. Whatever did I do to deserve this treasure I have found? Shirley told me that Ellis passed away on this date 6 years ago. She said, "I lost a son on this date and now I have gained a daughter." What timing the Lord has when we wait on Him.
August 1, 1990
The next night, I fell asleep at 8:30 p.m. because I did not sleep the night before. I took off work that day and gathered pictures to send to her. I also made plane reservations. I called her to tell her of my plans and she said she could not wait to have me in her arms again. I melted when she said that. Thinking about it later I hoped she wouldn't be disappointed because I am this great big woman now. After I fell asleep, the phone rang and this man said, "Katie, this is your big brother, Madison, and I don't want to be left out of all the excitement!" We talked for about 30 minutes and he too made me feel so welcome into the family. I told him I always wanted a big brother to take care of me. Then I got older I wanted a brother so I could meet his friends. He said, "Well, you didn't miss much. My friends were pretty creepy!" I was on top of the world at this point!
It took about a week for this to absorb. Then, I had the same need to know my father. I now had it confirmed that Dr. Bill is my father. Shirley called him the day after she and I first talked. She was trying to pave the way for me to contact him. That was such an unselfish thing to do for me. He did not respond positively and seemed to think I wanted something from him. He used the word balderdash somewhere in their conversation. Reminiscent of Ebenezer Scrooge in my mind. Over the next two weeks, I talked to Shirley and my new brother and sister several times. I wrote a letter to Dr. Bill, but, then could not mail it for fear someone else might read it. I decided the night Shirley told me of his negative reaction to let him "stew" on it for awhile. I felt with time to get used to the idea he might react more positively. I still thought that all I could hope for from him was maybe one conversation. I had him stereotyped in my mind like some of the arrogant womanizing young doctors I have encountered in my career. The type that seem to think the sun rises and falls because of their grand knowledge.
Jimmy and his parents were worried about me. They, too, did not expect a good reunion with Dr. Bill. They all three at one time or the other gave their advice to hold off for a bit. They were afraid for me. Everything had been so positive up to that point; they did not want me to mess things up. But, the one detail they did not seem to realize was that God was leading me. I had no one else to depend on and I was listening in my spirit to His lead. You see, people are good intentioned and attempt to understand, but, nobody can really know how I feel. So, I listened to all the advice and appreciated their concern and then prayed and listened to my gut.
I will stop here for today. My assumptions were very wrong about my father. I was blessed to have him in my life for as long as I did. I am adding a photo of the hospital where I was born. It is unique because it was over a theater. I joke that I was born to perform. ✌️❤️
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