Friday:
The drive was easy.
It seemed like it
took only one or two hours and not the regular four. As we
crossed over the Hoover Dam on this new route we could see no water. This route shortchanged me. I wanted
to point to the water below so that my grandson could see what I had seen on so
many trips to Nevada in the past. I wanted to hear him say those oooh's and aww's at his first time view.
Oh well, no matter because I had other things on
my mind.
We were headed to Vegas. The next day we will venture to Henderson Nevada where we will meet my daughter’s aunt and her children’s great-aunt they had never
met before.
I later learned that two uncles would be driving from California,
which heightened the excitement.
Of course I know that
the children would have loved for their father and grandfather to have been in
on the meeting but fate is fate and we make the best of what we have.
The check in at the hotel was not
left up to me but the walk from the parking area to the hotel was. Sheesh, my
legs thought it would never make it. The only place to park was in the back of
the hotel and the rooms were in the front.
Finally after I reached the elevator
and rode up to the 19th floor, the arrow pointing to the rooms
looked like it reached back to Arizona.
Huffing and puffing, we made it to
the room, put the bags away and Tyler said, “let’s go eat” !
I made the mistake of not asking them
to bring me a doggie bag back, so down the hallway and elevator I went.
I just love my kids, they are in such
good shape and waited for me as I trudged along. I could see in their faces how
happy they were. LOL
Saturday:
We arrived at the house, rang the
doorbell and waited for the door to open. We rang the doorbell again and no
answer.
We decided to go back and sit in the
car.
My daughter called her new found
cousin Tanya on the phone. The message came on and said the mailbox was full. I think
the next thing was to text which she did. No answer.
Were we at the right home? We checked
the address again, and even tried calling again. I asked my daughter if she may
have gotten the address wrong. She checked her messages and re-read the address
that Tanya her cousin had sent to her.
And then suddenly two cars turned the corner, drove up to the house and parked!
My daughter’s Aunt Sherian kept looking as she drove up and a huge grin spread across her face. She parked, and got out of
the car and started giving the best hugs.
They all looked like Al, but boy that
one brother Kenneth looked like they could have been twins.
David, the other brother was the most talkative one.
All he asked we tried to
answer, and all we asked they tried to remember the answers;
We needed to put
into respective the road that we travelled to get here.
It was a lot to soak in
but then again it was not enough time. I think we did well with what we knew.
All
the rest can be learned in time if it is for us.
I instantly fell in love with them.
There is one more sister we have to meet and that’s Leslie.
There were so many similarities in
the lives we had been living it is almost scary.
First off, Tanya the
cousin previously lived in the same city we live in and worked at the same
beauty shop where we get our hair styled;
I used to live a couple
blocks away in Los Angeles from where they lived;
Sherilyn worked for the
FAA briefly and so did Al;
Al was a golfing junkie
and David also had that passion;
The great Aunt Mary
lives in Oklahoma City and not that far from where we were for Al’s home-going
service;
The other great Aunt
Novella lives in the same city as my brother Bruce;
It just so happens that
she was the one whose name I was obsessed with because I had never heard it
before.
We looked through pictures and
pictures. We now know what Al’s parents and grands look like.
Lee Edward Holmes aka Roland Lee Holmes (Father ) Creek Co Okla.
Charles Smith (Grandfather ) Texas
Laura Mae Smith Holmes (mother)Robertson County Texas
Lillie Bell Simmons Holmes (g-mother) Creek County Okla.
Mary Smith Benson (gg-grmother) her Father John Smith(ggg-gr father)
We also
have new names to add to the family tree. Names like Holmes, Smith, Benson,
Johnson, Simmons, Figures, Moody and Lawrence.
Sunday:
We met for Brunch, and had another
wonderful time eating a great mean and watching the football game. David's wife Margo was there along with Sherians hubby Hal. There was this guy who talked with us about football and laughed at me when I said Go
Cardinals! What can I say, loyalty is one of my best virtues.
The cousins at Brunch getting their
eats on and styling.
After eating, I stayed awhile in the
lounge where there were rows and rows of bandits minus one arm. Now they are sporting
buttons that give you the option of choosing the one you want. My choices were not the bandits choice I
might add.
Grateful: Two cousins
Tanya and Tish you two made it
happen.
I loved both of your smiles and heartfelt feelings. Stay strong and
stay in touch with each other. This was an amazing story within itself and
remember, we all are bound to have another story worth remembering and telling.
Life is like that.
You know, there is something special
in people when you can talk with ease and it seems like you have known each
other for years and years instead of one or two days.
I would like to think that if I had
not played a part in this journey and the clock was turned back, I would have
bumped into these same people and struck up a relationship that would have
lasted a lifetime.
That is the affect
that they had on me.
