This past year has been full of firsts for us. We have been told by many that we should write a book, or that we would make a good 20/20 documentary. And sadly, I would have to agree.
Last May, 2016 Trent and I had hopped a plane to Lawton, Oklahoma as soon as we heard that Trent's dad had stopped eating and didn't want to get out of bed as his lung cancer had been progressing. We were lucky he was still with us 2 years after being diagnosed with his 3rd bout and the visit mentioned in my previous post.
While there, I was trying to keep myself busy with "important" things as the favorite past time of my aged in-laws is watching re-runs of Bonanza, the Waltons, and Golden Girls. Harold had been the family genealogist and it dawned on me that once he passed, there would be a hole that needed to be filled. (Harold didn't much appreciate that thought.) As I was looking at my genealogical file, I realized I had never met anyone from a couple branches of the McLinn family tree. Uncles Gary and Delmar McLinn had died before I joined the family in 1999. I asked my mother-in-law, Collene, the name of Gary's wife and children, and she had difficulty remembering. While searching the internet, I came across an obituary of a cousin who had passed away, one of Uncle Gary's daughters which listed 8 children. Cousin Patsy, Aunt Colleta's daughter, put me in contact with another of Gary's daughters, Joan.
After returning from Lawton, I called Joan and talked to her briefly. She said her brother had done some genealogy several years earlier and she would update the information and mail it to me. Within the week, I had the records, but waited until the Sunday before school got out for the summer to look at them.
It is also important to know that Harold's cancer was progressing. Trent had told him that when school was out, we would bring the grandchildren out to visit. Trent asked, "Dad, will you still be here?" Harold said he would, and so this was also 6 days before we were heading back to Lawton for our final visit with Harold, and 13 days prior to his passing on June 4th, 2016.
I finally found time to sit at the computer and add the information to my personal genealogical records. I almost didn't look at the Harold Hunt family because after more than 17 years with my husband, I thought I knew his history, but something prompted me to take a look.
I could not believe my eyes when next to my husband's name, was the notation: "(Adopted)." I did a double take, blinking a few times and trying to make sense of what I was seeing. How was this possible? Trent was 48 years old. Wouldn't he know if he was adopted by now. Could this be some mistake? Was this for real? What do I do with this information? Of course, I couldn't keep it from my husband, but this was earth rocking information.
Before I could wrap my head around what I had discovered, Trent called from the other room that dinner was ready. (I do love that Sunday is his day to cook, but at that moment, food was the furthest thing from my mind.)
After he called out a 2nd time, I collected my papers and thoughts and headed into the kitchen to begin another new, unforeseen adventure with my sweetie!
