Bethany

Bethany

Once upon a time long ago in a city in Mississippi, there was a young woman who became pregnant out of wedlock, who was sent to a home for unwed mothers and had a daughter, which she gave up for adoption.

This was the way things were done in the old days, it mattered not if the woman had been savagely attacked or not, she was made to give the baby up and never see them again. The woman went on with her life. She met and married a kind man who took great care of her.

Her three other daughters from a previous marriage were sent to live with her ex-husband and not much correspondence was written between them after so many years. But in between what happened with them and after the baby she gave up, I was born.

Three years later she and the man she married had a son. His name was Kenneth. Now our little family was complete. My mother’s new husband adopted me and gave me his name. When I grew up and married, that was changed, but never my love for my father.

In the years in between I came to know about the baby my mother gave up when one of my other half-sisters found her and told Mother about it. I longed to meet her for many years. Social media became the door that opened for me to meet her at least on that public forum, and we began to learn what we could about each other.

Many years passed, and finally the opportunity to meet her in person happened last year.

My husband retired, we sold or gave away most of our belongings, and what we didn’t sell went into storage. We sold both cars and our home, bought a cash car and a class A motor home and hit the road. We were so excited to start our new lifestyle, now that the kids were adults and making their own way.

Last winter we planned to spend in the place where Bethany, my long-lost half-sister lived. The journey would take us from Texas to North Carolina, South Carolina, ending in Florida.

When we got to North Carolina, my only desire was to meet a fellow blogger and sit on her porch like her family and friends do on her blog. I got my wish, and we got along so famously that we stayed for three weeks in the beauty of the Great Smoky Mountains. We were much too late to experience the change of seasons, yet there were still patches here and there of brightly colored leaves. It was rather cold, which I hate, but nothing deterred me.

Annie and I walked nearly ever day, enjoying the time together and sat on her porch to rest and chat, sometimes having lunch or a snack. I talked to her of my excitement to meet Bethany, and she was excited for me. She was more than kind and offered to not only guide us around her town but cooked dinner for us on several occasions. I hated to leave her when the time came, yet we had to go so we could get to our next destination on time. When you live on the road, everything has to flow like a well-oiled clock. You must book your parks and resorts ahead of time, keeping you on a schedule of sorts. We weren’t due in North Carolina by a specific time, but we were due in Florida by December first. That only left us a week in SC.

After we’d been there a week exploring the area, my cousin informed me that her sister and her son lived in the same area we were staying, but she was a teacher, and we were not able to get together until the weekend. We made the most of that Sunday before we left, visiting both houses and a local wildlife park. Somewhere during that visit, my already damaged back got even worse.

By the time we made it to Florida, I could barely walk. I would not deny my husband, however, when he wanted to visit the fort in St Augustine before traveling on to our final destination in West Jupiter. He practically dragged me around massive steps made of crushed seashells and mortar, up and down these stairways and across the giant fort. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world, yet I was in great pain and distress. My injury was a herniated disc on top of spinal stenosis and a cyst near my spine. I knew nothing at the time except that I hurt.

Once we arrived in West Jupiter, I had already contacted the veterans hospital in West Palm Beach to seek treatment. We are both veterans and my medical care is now solely through the VA. Long story short, it took three months to get me mobile again and deal with my pain.

Before the treatment was my first meeting with Bethany and her husband Fred. I was nervous and self-conscious due to the fact that I couldn’t walk well, but Bethany didn’t see that at first. She rushed from inside our meeting place -a restaurant nearby- into my waiting arms and we laughed at finally meeting in person. Fred was charming and seemed as excited as us that we were finally meeting for the first time. He and my husband also seemed to get on well, and we had a fabulous first dinner together.

They told me what they knew about my mother and shared what stories they had heard. My mouth hung open at some of the revelations. My mother was not always an honest person, and many untruths were explained to me. Bethany had grown up with her adoptive parents who loved her and Fred very much. My parents both being gone by now left me no one to corroborate these tales. Yet I believed what they told me. Mother was no saint by any stretch, but she loved me and told me what she thought I needed to hear.

After meeting Bethany, I wanted all the time I could have with her, but she and Fred worked, so I had to wait for days before we could meet again. She planned a dinner at her house the next time we got together. We texted messages in between our get togethers and made plans accordingly. I could hardly wait to see her house and meet her children. That next meeting was awkward only because of my condition, but Bethany made both of us feel comfortable and accepted, no matter what the circumstances. Fred was very concerned for my suffering, but I assured him I was on my way to healing soon.

During the three months of our stay in Florida, I had several appointments with the VA meeting various doctors and getting different needs met. Finally, after much time, I was given a nerve block injection which instantly relieved the majority of my pain. Now I would feel more at ease for our next visit. That one was again at her house for Christmas dinner. Being away from my family is hard during holidays, so it was nice to be with Bethany’s family. We exchanged small gifts, ate a scrumptious dinner, and watched a video of her talented daughter dance on a show for Disney alongside Steve Harvey. She is a natural!

Her daughter is so charming, talented, and pretty, and we got to video chat with her son and then my youngest son. Later on, when the weather warmed a bit, we also had a beach day. We always seemed to have a meal together somewhere. We get along like best friends. No matter where we went or what we did, time with her and her family was always special and memorable, so I cannot wait to get back to Florida to see her again!

(names have been changed to protect their identity)