I Know You I Danced With You Once Apon a Dream...For Ellen

My cousin just asked how I met my husband. What dragged a girl from New England all the way over to the other side of the world? Well here goes. Oprah move over because I have my own story. lol!

In 1991 when the first Gulf War began, my sister Cat began the first cookie/letter campaign. As my first husband put 20 years in the military I knew it was important for the troops to receive letters from home. And Cat nagged at me until I sat down to write. What I actually did was make homemade greeting cards and send them off to the APO to 'any service person'. The result was that I ended up corresponding with 11 people and was delighted when they all returned home safe and sound. But, I found that I missed corresponding.

About a month later I was shown an ad for International Pen Friends in the newspaper. I sat down and sent a letter off to them. They sent me back about 6 people to write to. From the first I knew that the one from Tasmania was a special man. He was a widow just like me. He had 2 children and lived in a rural setting. We had a lot in common except I had no children. We started to correspond. The letters got longer and the phone calls started. An expensive exercise but worth it.

In 1994 Tony braved it and came over to see me. It was New Years Eve when he arrived. I had a tiny apartment in Hollidaysburg, PA. I had moved back down there the year before. It was incredible. Like we had always been together. No strangeness - no qualms. We fit together. As Tony waited to board a return flight he asked me to 'make haste and come to Tasmania.' He wanted to marry me.

I got myself in order. Applied to Australian Immigration - a lengthy process - and on July 8, 1995 I left for Tasmania. We were married on Jan. 4, 1996. A beach wedding with Irish musicians and lots of laughing and dancing. Only thing missing was my family from home. But Mom and Cat called me and they timed it for right after the ceremony.

We have been married for 13 years now and he is the kindest, sweetest, gentle - man that I have ever met. And he makes me laugh. All the time. So, I am where I am supposed to be. I believe that. And I gained the 2 children I thought I would never have- as a bonus. So, yes, I am old enough to have those children, Ellen. lol!

Anyway, thanks for asking and I know that you know that their is more to the story - like telling Mom I was moving...but we will save that for another time.

Love you,

Lin

No Matter Where I Roam

The longer that I am living in Australia - the more aware I am of my roots. I miss New England. Four definite seasons that you could count on bringing their own holidays and fun. Ever-changing scenery. I am not complaining about Tassie. Tassie is widely unspoiled and has the mountains, the sea, rivers, lakes and breath-taking rainbows on a regular basis. I find this amusing as I often feel that I have flown over the rainbow to be here. Hello Dorothy. And who doesn't love a good rainbow or feel the pull of it's magic?

More than I miss the location of my birth - I miss those who were a part of my life. Helped mold my charecter. Knew me from the beginning. Who understand how I came to be exactly who I am. I miss my blood relatives. I miss that feeling of kinship and looking at a person whose eyes stare back at you with the same shape and color. Or have a similar forehead, the deviated septum or the crooked grin. Family. Immediate or extended. We look at them and often know ourselves better. "A hundred year old photograh stares out from a frame - and if you look real close - you'll see our eyes are just the same."

Thanks to the internet and Facebook in particular - I have reconnected with a great deal of my extended family at the same time as I keep up with my immediate family. The extended family had also moved away from their roots. Of course they are all in the same country but America can be pretty vast sometimes. It is as easy to be parted for years there as it is to be parted for years here.

This week I feel blessed. I also feel sad, glad - like laughing and crying all at the same time. I have so much catching up to do with the people who knew me when. And a further blessing in finding the family has expanded to so many beautiful people - of all ages. Yes, I have been blessed.

I have many thoughts about this swirling in my head but I need to sort them out before I write again. And I will write again because I have been inspired by a cousin I thought was lost but now is found. Thank you, Ellen.

May we all be blessed with family we love - who if lost - are found once again.