What will I say, what will I do?

I'll be going to Canada soon to meet a family I've never met - my family. Let me explain. My mother was Canadian. My father was American. I was born in Farmington, New Mexico. My mother died the day I was born and my father's American sister raised my brother and me.

I have only know the paternal side of my family. Don't get me wrong. They are a great family. But I have always longed for more. Maybe it's a female thing. I don't know. But I have always wanted to know more about my maternal family.

I have always know OF them. My maternal grandmother used to write to us and send us birthday cards and gifts, Christmas cards and gifts. I loved her homemade popcorn balls. :) My Aunt Bobby and Aunt Thelma wrote to us when we were kids and kept in touch with my Aunt Dolis, who was raising my brother and me.

I remember one holiday (not sure if it was Thanksgiving or Christmas) when my father was visiting us. We were going to make a call to Canada to talk to my grandmother. Now mind you, this was in the 1960's when international calls were not only expensive, but not the easiest connection. We didn't make contact that day, or any other day.

I have always wanted a relationship with ALL of my family. Before the wonderful internet, it was almost impossible to locate "lost" family members. But then came the internet, the World Wide Web and online geneaology. I found the name of a cousin and was able to find his telephone number in August 2008.

You never know how those things will work out. Would he hang up on me? Think I was a crazy person? Think I was trying to get something?? None of those fears materialized. He was so nice. After we talked, I began receiving calls from many of my cousins. Come to find out, they had been looking for me too!

We are making plans for a big reunion on the family farm. There will be camping, camp fires, and many many stories to be told.

Yet, I am still nervous about meeting them. What will I say? What will I do?? We have made arrangements for two of my cousins to meet me at the airport in Saskatoon and then travel to Unity. I will be there for 5 days. I anticipate that the time will fly by way too fast! But that's OK.

I hope my Mother knows about the reunion.