TWENTY SIX - HAPPY 64th BIRTHDAY TINA

HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY 64th Birthday SIS

JULY 4th and Thinking of my baby sister TINA 

(my itty bitty teenie weenie tiny little sister)

I cherish the memories of celebrating our Birthdays with Tina. 

Our family always made a big deal out of holidays and special occasions like Birthdays.

A few of our Special birthdays were done proper @ the cottage on Rice Lake. I remember Tina's 30th Birthday at the lake, complete with a bounty of small lobsters. Sis couldn't handle the tentacles, but she could polish off quite a few lobsters.

Mom and Sis were "look alikes"

Tina was a rolling stone like our mother. Always moving around and always ready for a change. I don't think I ever grasped the fact that they could be similar in looks as well until I read the description of our mom in the "Children's Aid Society" report....WHY did it never occur to me before? The report was dealing with the CAS adoption of my Brother Steve, The worker went into great detail on mom's appearance and demeanor

It was like they were describing my sister TINA perfectly. 

WELL GROOMED and NICELY DRESSED - check!

SMALL FRAME and GOLDEN BLONDE - check!

ARTICULATE and WELL SPOKEN - check!

OUTGOING and EASY TO TALK TO - check!

VARIED INTERESTS and ENGAGING - check!

ARTISTIC and MUSICAL - check!

IT DIDN"T STOP THERE!

Tina was Extremely "Fashion Conscious" and always had the latest style of clothes, makeup, furniture, hairdo. Everything Tina did or touched was done with great care. Even visiting us @ the cottage, she and the children would arrive looking ready for the runway. 

I never thought about where this trait is came from or that it could be possibly passed down from our mom. That particular Gene has been passed on to Tina's daughter as well, while I unfortunately did NOT aquire it LOL

Looking at photographs I have also discovered more similarities. Both our mother and Tina had the same teeth. The eye teeth in particular were wonkie. When my Aunt Anne showed me a photo of mom back in 1956 I instantly recognized the same dental problem that Tina had. OH and the "eyebrows"....not only can I see Tina and mom had similar, also "Brother Steve"! All three of them have the same eye brows and nose. FREAKY!

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TINA ~ luv ya!

TWENTY FIVE - "Happy Birthday Brother Steve"

Tina, Yvette, MOM, Brother Steve....finally together!

"Our little Family"

Thru the skill of some wonderful volunteers on a Face Book page the group "Random Acts of Photograph Kindness", this photo was created. It's a Great group of people that volunteer their time to restore old photographs, check them out if you get a chance - their work is amazing. 
A sweet heart of a woman took a small color photo of my sister and I (1990), a B/W photo of our mom (1956) and a B/W pic of brother Steve (1978) ....and made  them into a meaningful keepsake for "Brother Steve's" 69th Birthday. Another member colorized the photo and I retouched a few areas that had no definition. I realize that this is Not real, it's only a Fantasy photograph, but it is nice to have a visual of a family which sadly were never all together.

I suddenly decide to search

There are times when the loss of my sister Tina is like a massive stabbing in my heart....it almost takes my breathe away. My sister is the ONLY person who shared any memories of our mom, went thru the struggle of moving all the time, and all the other challenges we faced. It's unerving that she is gone. Even being with my husband since I was 16 years old is NOT the same as the bond I shared with my sister. Yet in some strange way I think the loss of my sister Tina in 2009 and then our father in 2018 kicked me into action. IF not for those 2 deaths, I doubt I would have had the urge to find out what ever happened to our mother, and to search for our brother Steve.

I am counting my Blessings

There are Many blessings that have happened to me because of my exhaustive search. I could never have guessed that staying up til 3AM could result in finding any family...and that it could change my life in such a Good way!

I have found so many Wonderful people that I can call "my Family" 

They are members of MY Tribe, they share my DNA, & they are my ONLY link to my mother. My mother, the evasive "Lenora Anne Jennings" who is STILL missing after all my searching. But hey mom, I know Your family....and Luv them! Something I Never thought would happen....and Best of all mom, I found "Brother Steve" and we talk a few times a month! 

You know, the baby you cried about when I was a small child. The son I am sure you Never thought you would ever see, or know about.

YES there are Wonderful Blessings in my life, they in no way can fill the void left in my heart BUT my heart is filled with JOY. I am SO damn Lucky.

And just watch me because "ONE DAY" I WILL find my mom 

"LENORA ANNE JENNINGS"