Author Archives: JulienneTravis

For Christmas in 2020, we have digital options for all ages. Parents who had never used Zoom before have learned to use it. My mother and I set up a call so she could actually see my whole family. That was the first time we had seen each other since February. Why have we notContinue reading “Zoom is the best we have!”

My mother and I immediately started to schedule calls to continue talking. We had over 50 years of life to catch up, and we wanted to know everything about each other. She missed my childhood, so I sent many photos at various stages of my life. We were amazed at the similarities between our picturesContinue reading “The Need to Meet”

I will take a break in telling you the story of how I met my biological parents for a moment, and come into today’s circumstances. I am now hoping to drive there to spend time in its beauty and visit my father there for a second time this summer. Back to the book’s story: AfterContinue reading “As we are experiencing a resurgence in COVID-19 cases, many are canceling their plans to travel for now.”

Over the next few weeks, my father was traveling to a family reunion and offered to stop through my hometown. I was so excited to meet him and his wife. He lives in Colorado, and I have been there many times in my life to ski. That great state means more to me now. HisContinue reading “The Plan to Meet My Father”

As this pandemic continues, my mother has said she is happy we met in 2019. It would have been very difficult to curtail the excitement of finding each other. Meeting each other in person was so important, and we would have had to postpone in 2020. Now that we know each other, we want toContinue reading “It is hard to be separated once you have met…”

Whether someone knows or not that a child of theirs could show up on their proverbial “doorstep” someday doesn’t make it much easier when it happens, I suspect. It is risky on both sides. When I finally got a search clue about my biological mother (by the way, it is scary what we can researchContinue reading “It is human nature to be curious”

I first reached out to the oldest relative on my DNA match list, but I had no response. It turns out that uncle does not check his DNA account, so I waited a bit to decide whether to reach out to a younger relative. I assumed they did not know about me. I got luckyContinue reading “When reaching out to close relatives you’ve never met, I think it is important to graciously give them an option to say “no thank you.””