The Untold Story

The plan was to have a small birthday party for my wife's (Robin's) 50th birthday. I invited a handful of folks to join us at Pat's Pizza in Windham. God bless the "grapevine" because so many people showed up that the restaurant had to import more tables and chairs. I counted 44 people. (The party room is only supposed to hold 25).

Amazing! And we thank each and every one who showed up to make this a very special event. And it was made even more special because we also commemorated the 70th birthday for a very special guest - Polly Von Herten.

But none of this is the real reason for this post. There was another very special and unusual event taking place last evening, and it is one that raised a lot of curiosity, and resulted in a horde of questions. Rather than having to explain it 44 times, I have decided to use this post to explain it to all at once. And it may help explain why we seemed a bit pre-occupied.

Last night at her party, Robin met two of her three brothers for the very first time. I know this sounds like something from Robert Stack's Unexplained Mysteries where families become reunited after being separated at birth, but it is more like a season of "As The World Turns" - this story would put the soaps to shame.

Without getting into too many details, we received a call just before Christmas. It turns out Robin's Dad, and most of her brothers and sisters, were not her real "blood" family at all. They were actually no relation, except for a half-brother and half-sister. It seems Robin's mom was single and with child, and she married the man who Robin knew as her Dad. But he was not her biological father.

For 50 years no one ever mentioned it until Robin got that call in December. What a shock. To make a long story short, Robin discovered she not only had another father, but also had three brothers, and nieces and nephews up the yahoo.

Until last evening, she had never met any of her newfound brothers. Two of the three showed up at the party along with theirs and Robin's real father, Sonny.

It's not every day a 50 year old meets their family for the first time, so Robin's party was even more special than many who attended could possibly know.

But now you know. And Robin is actually quite fortunate - she now has two families - her Dad's family, who raised her from birth, and her father's family.

Should make for an interesting family reunion, eh?

Meanwhile, I'm just glad that I was able to convince this wonderful woman to spend her life with me. I used to joke that when she turned 50 I'd trade her in for two 25 year old models, but wisdom comes with age and I know the treasure I have in this gal. She is like a paintbrush that adds color to my otherwise greyscale world.

Thank you, Robin, for being my everything.

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