Genealogy: How I Found My DNA Relatives, Part 6 (FINAL)

Genealogy: How I Found My DNA Relatives, Part 6 (FINAL)

Meeting My Relatives

Psalm 130:5 I wait for the LORD, my soul does wait, and in His word do I hope.

Well, here we are at the “end” of the story…

If you missed the other 5 posts, click HERE

After several months of talking back and forth, our whole family planned a trip to New Mexico to meet both sides of the families.  At first my brother and his wife wanted to fly to Florida to meet us, but we agreed it would be better if our family went there and met everyone.  So, in August 2022 my husband, two grown sons and I synchronized our schedules and traveled out West.

 

I arrived two days early to spend time with as many who wanted to see me before my husband and sons arrived. [They went to Carlsbad Caverns and White Sands National Park on the way there.]  I was expecting my sister-in-law to pick me up at the airport. I was a bit stressed because I almost missed my connecting flight (be sure to check  the gate LETTER as well as the number when changing planes!). I must confess that I was a little  nervous, too. 

When the double doors opened, there she was with her daughter and her granddaughter with a bouquet of flowers for me (plus a gift basket that was in the car)!  😭  SO unexpected and so very thoughtful. We all had a lovely afternoon and early evening with dinner together. They even took me grocery shopping to get a few things for the family while staying in the AirBnB.

One of the few families that does not live in New Mexico had driven from California to meet me.  That niece is the one who had done the extensive genealogical research about our Sephardic Jewish lineage (see previous post about that). She and I had been talking and zooming almost every week for much of the summer.  We even read a good portion of a book together. We all hit it off wonderfully.  She and her family took me to Santa Fe to spend the day.  They also went with our whole family to the Sandia Mountains to hike around and see the views. It is so unusual for all of us to mesh with another family so easily and quickly. 

It is such a strange thing that when people see you, they tear up or cry (which makes me cry). My father’s side of the family say that I look just like him; my mother’s side of the family say I look like her.  I guess I’m a good blend of both.

There were also two large family events.  One was a dinner with about 30 people at a restaurant near our AirBnB with mariachi musicians/singers. I met my sister and another brother that evening. Quite emotional, I must say, especially after all of the prayers that were said for  and about us (each time we were all together). 😭  The other was an afternoon/evening barbecue at my brother’s large home with about 50-60 people with chile pepper roasting (a traditional family event). I had requested name tags and everyone wore them with their name on top and their relationship to me under their name. That helped our family so much!  

On a side note, our family thinks it’s cute that my husband is the “exotic” in our Spanish family. He has light hair and clear blue eyes and everyone really noticed them.   At our wedding ceremony 35 years ago, the little girls in his family all thought that I was the first “exotic” in the family because I have such dark hair and eyes.  😀

My sweet cousin (from yesterday’s post) had us all  and another cousin to her home for coffee and brunch as well. It was a small gathering, but several hours of great conversation and food. Everyone enjoyed that visit immensely. Saying goodbye to our extended family was more difficult than I had anticipated. 😭  I’m glad that some of them come to Florida occasionally and we are already planning another family trip to California  next year so it was definitely not goodbye forever. 😀 

I am so thankful that my son gave me this very special Christmas gift and that my nephew reached out to me initially.  Our whole family would certainly have missed an amazing adventure without them both. 

So, as I mentioned in my first post, I feel like I’ve been in a Hallmark movie that hasn’t ended. I have regular contact with at least 5 of the women (both sides of the families), 2 nephews and one of my brothers.  In addition to that, many more chat and text via phone, zoom, Facebook and messenger.  They seem very happy that we are part of their families;  I certainly am happy that I am part of theirs. 

May the Lord bless them and keep them, each and every one…💕

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EPILOGUE: 

There are many more details so if you have any questions, just ask me. OR if you are considering doing a DNA search yourself, I would encourage you to do so.  OR if  you have already contacted biological relatives and were rejected (as sadly, one of our cousins had been), just remember that more than likely there are some, probably many, who will NOT reject you.  Be brave and enjoy the journey in your  adventure.

Last year I was hired by our former church to record about 200 pieces of music for their online streamed worship services. They invited me recently to tell the story of my DNA search and trip to Albuquerque.  Click HERE if you would like to listen to that talk. The service is 2 hours and includes introductions, welcome and announcements and prayers at the end. If you do not want to hear the entire 2 hours, skip to…

• 2:55 to hear one song played by me on piano (usually there are 3)
• 1:02:05 to hear my story

Blessings to you all and thank you for joining me on my DNA adventure!