Introduction

I moved to Washington State in April 2010.  My whole life was in Columbus, Ohio and I never imagined living on the west coast.  Well, things change, and here’s why….

I was given up for adoption in 1974, and my birth mom found me in 2007.  I received a phone call at 9:51pm on September 23, 2007 while I was watching Desperate Housewives.  I was convinced the caller had the wrong number until I heard “is this Erin?”  Weird, and not the wrong number.  “Yes” I replied.  Then I heard, “my name is Bev and I’m calling from Washington; by chance were you adopted?”  To that I said, “Why are you asking?” and she said “I might be your birth mom.”  WOW!  WHAT?!?!  Breathe….

One month later, she was on my doorstep, and I met her for the first time.  We had such a wonderful visit, and I showed her where I grew up, where I went to school, Ohio State, and NetJets.  There was so much to talk about.  We had so much in common from loving hazelnut lattes to hefeweissen beer.

Two weeks after meeting my birth mom, I was on a plane to Washington to meet my three half sisters.  The instant bond was beyond words, and something only DNA can explain.  I met my niece and nephew during this visit as well.  Since then, one more niece and three more nephews have entered the family.

My visit to Washington in November was just a few days before my 33^rd birthday.  Every year, my birth mom made a birthday cake, and took the girls out to dinner, and they called it ‘special day.’  During my visit, there was a surprise birthday dinner for me, and a birthday cake.  While my birth mom carried the cake with candles to the table she said in between tears “every year I have made a cake for Erin and now I finally get to give her one.”  There was not a dry eye at the table.  It was so emotional and special for all of us.

I was back visiting my new family in December for Christmas, and met more family members.  MomBev (as I decided to start calling her) is one of seven so I started meeting aunts and an uncle, and cousins.  I made many visits to Washington, including a long trip to Glacier National Park during the summer of 2008.  Each visit I met more and more family members and continued getting to know my birth mom, her husband Boyd, my sisters, and their husbands and children.  I felt such a strong bond and it was getting more and more difficult to leave after each visit.

In September of 2009, I was laid off from NetJets and started to pursue career opportunities in both Washington and Ohio.  Ohio moved a little faster and I ended up getting a job with Safelite.  Washington then caught up, and I was offered a job with PNNL six months after I started with Safelite.  Off to Washington I went.  I lived with MomBev and Boyd for six months, built a house, and settled in to Pasco, Washington.

Of course, I made several trips back to Ohio to visit family and friends.  The Ohio trip in July of 2011 is what has prompted this blog and my new journey…………