I don’t think it ever leaves you; why did Mom and Dad divorce? Although my three year old mind wasn’t old enough to digest the impact it had on her life, I know what he did; he created a new family.
“We come from the family that doesn’t talk about it,” so says Susan the sister I grew up with. “We always knew Kenneth was active but how many lives did he affect?”
The more Susan and I thought about it, the harder it became to keep silent. The physical journey to locate, mend fences and mind your manners is a process that incubated in the souls of both sides of the fence.
Kenneth’s first of three wives (that we know of) walked up to Susan at my Grandmother’s funeral and congratulated her on taking the necessary steps to being called a true family member. Being second in line on the family tree came with no cushions which meant every word, thought or belief not only hit you but left indentations.
Attending Kenneth’s funeral was horribly rough because we were locked in a room with people that looked just like us but none of us knew why. Then Susan located the hidden away blanket that featured every grandchild’s name on it. As painful as it had been with the first family, the destination arose that she would work through her friend Liz to locate Jamie and Irene.
I was brought into the vision after Liz uncovered the miles that had been worn but through incredibly careful commands by Susan nothing was supposed to unwrap until she knew there wouldn’t be pain.
First came the Face Book connection with Jamie; I stared at her photos for days trying to feel the family magic. If the universe truly wanted this to be I needed to hear Casey Kasum sharing a long distance dedication followed by Nazareth’s song Love Hurts. Nothing…not until an FB path met in the middle of Irene’s gallery and me. She was the girl I saw at my father’s funeral.
You can stare at yourself in the mirror your entire life and never come up with the answers as to why your parents split. The moment you step away each eye exposes a new story; you’re now 48 and you’ve yet to meet the continuation of music.
I ask myself fifty times a day, “Why is this so important?” There are no answers only words typed out on a Face Book page or a Midwestern accent on a cell phone strong enough to be radio ready and you can’t help but wonder, “How did Kenneth’s voice sound? She knew him longer than me? Might she know what it’s like to have a father? Could there be something she holds that ends the silence set free in each of our hearts?”
Tomorrow…Jamie, Susan and I will meet for the very first time.
They say what you do on New Years Eve will echo through the next fifty two weeks. If that urban legend proves to be true; let the melodies of three separate chapters melt into one song and let it be strong enough to open the door, window and heart to take the next step toward finally meeting Irene.
Sadly, this story happens everyday in almost every walk of life. Children are searching for the other children hoping to one day invite inner peace to the blank pages kept hidden away because too people many want to take their family secret to the grave.
www.findyourfamily.com Amazon has multitudes of books based on locating the unspoken.
arroecollins@clearchannel.com
See the pictures on face book
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