Meeting my birth mother

Chenet Bonnètt here,

   I normally wouldn't put a post like this up but I feel like if someone else is going through this right now then maybe we can share the experience, or experiences. This post won't have anything to do with fashion, but this is also a lifestyle blog so theres wiggle room for what Isha and I post. It's going to be a long post so I hope you like it, or maybe take something away from it, anything.
   
   I've always known I was adopted, always, ever sense I was a little girl. My parents never kept that from me, and for that I'm extremely thankful. I have three crazy, overprotective, electric brothers who I love very much and also am incredibly lucky to have. They picked on me and pushed me around like all siblings do, but they taught me things and life lessons that -had I not had any siblings- may not have ever learned or experienced. And to me, experiences are super important. My brothers never treated me any different than I would be if I was actually blood, my whole family to be honest. No one has ever looked at me as an outsider due to not being actual "family". 

   My family is a firm believer in " You can't choose your family, or who you are related to", but with that being said they chose to fully accept me as their family. Where I live (Virginia) the youngest you can adopt a child is 3 months of age, so when my mother (Lisa) and my father ( Tim) had my other brothers (Andrew,Alex,and Arick) my mom got fed up - at least thats how I like to think of it- and decided they were going to adopt a girl, because my mother wasn't about to try and have a fourth child and it turn out to be another boy.

   This is where all the details get a little blurry for me, seeing as I wasn't born nor do I remember every little thing about my adoption. But, my birth mother was very young when she was pregnant with me, and she knew she couldn't provide the life that she thought I deserved. So she did one of the hardest things I could even imagine doing, caring a child in your stomach for 9 months, seeing it grow and kick and move around inside you. Something that many women go through and love because it's a beautiful thing. She is one of the most selfless people I know ( well not really know yet), choosing to birth me and give me to an amazing and loving family is another thing I will be eternally grateful for. 
    
   From what Lisa and Tim always told me (also my birth mother recently) is that she wanted me to have other siblings to look after me and protect me, and that I got in abundance. She picked a family that she only knew select things about, but somehow knew they were absolutely perfect for me. I don't remember being brought home or how that went at all, I'm sure it was extremely emotional for both parties.
    
  I got a letter last May, I was in school and my mom was in the front office helping out. I went in during a class that we were just completely fooling around in, and she said   "Something came in the mail for you". Wait, I know, why did I get this letter thats pretty important at school? I'm actually not sure at all, ask my mom. I remember being extremely confused and just looking at my mom. She said " It's from Heidi". My heart stopped. I had known her name for a couple of years now, but had never gotten anything from her before. I remember just taking the letter -that was in a manilla envelope- and just walking back to my class. I sat down and stared at it. I opened it and started reading, but there was pictures inclosed that fell out, so I grabbed them, and I was absolutely shocked at how similar I thought we looked. I had never really thought about looking like someone. Now it should be said that Lisa and I look very similar, people often tell us we are lying about me being adopted because of the similarities between us. But looking at my birth mother in those pictures made me realize, no, I'm actually half of that person, half of her. A stranger that now was reaching out to me, is my birth mother.

   It took me a while to write back, I wanted to. I really really did but I didn't really know what to say. I wanted to meet her, but I didn't know what that was going to mean. What was going to come next. Who would she then be to me in my life? I still don't know, and I'm going to meet her tomorrow. How crazy is that, its actually now hitting me, that this person that has always been there, that I've been a part of, but was a stranger will no longer be a stranger anymore. 

   I can't finish how meeting her went, but tomorrow I will write another post, trying my best to explain how it went, my thoughts or maybe epiphanies that I might have. Im scared, Im excited, I may not be ready but I have to know. Until then-

  Stay Authentic- Chenet Bonnètt