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How I Went from an Only Child to a Woman with Two Siblings, Seemingly Overnight... at 40

Thanks, Ancestry.

By Andrea OrtizPublished 6 years ago 5 min read
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Sisters!

It was a typical lazy Sunday. My kid was playing video games, I was folding and hanging up laundry. I decided a needed a break, so I went on Facebook, because...isn’t that what we all do while breaking? I had friend requests from some people whose last name I recognized, so I thought nothing of it. I accepted them all and went about my day doing laundry.

The laundry continued for a few seconds before I heard “ping, ping, ping, ping, ping”! It was driving me INSANE, so I decided to check it out. Suddenly I saw a message about me having a possible sister!! I thought, HUH? Through Facebook messenger I received a phone call. She told me her name and that she has a sister she THOUGHT was her sister, but she thinks is really my sister. Confused yet? Well, so was I! Mind you, my dad was kind of a playboy his whole life, so the idea of this happening wasn’t exactly shocking, to say the least.

I had previously submitted my DNA to Ancestry.com just for fun, so I could find out my ethnicity/background, all that fun stuff. Never in my LIFE would I think I would uncover a whole new life! After I got off of my call, I thought to myself, screw it, I’m talking to her right now, ripping that band-aid right off! And so I did...on the other end of the phone was a woman in tears, frantic over what she had just uncovered. Everything we both thought we knew was a lie. Her father wasn’t really her father, her father was MY father. Oh boy, now I had to make a call...to my dad.

I’m not one to wait for things; I make them happen, so I called him up, gave him the scoop, and waited for a response. It went as you might imagine it did, “WHAT, who, I don’t even know a woman by that name (referring to the sister’s mom)”! He, being the nice guy that he is, caved eventually. Me, being the person that doesn’t like waiting, set up a meeting for all three of us, that night. I was excited, sister was nervous, Dad was just shocked. I rushed to his place to get there before her, and then we waited...

She knocked at the door, and when I opened it up, I couldn’t believe my eyes. I saw me in her. It was freaky beyond belief. We hugged, tears were shed, it was an awesome, awesome time. Dad was so nice to her, and we just talked about life, things that has gone on, looked at pictures (of course he still had thoughts in the back of his head—we need another DNA test), but I think in the back of his head, he knew. I reminded him several times that, um, DNA doesn’t lie. It’s freaking DNA! I mean, he may not remember making whoopee with her mom, but it doesn’t mean he didn’t. It was 47 years ago! I barely remember last week, sometimes. Through the meeting there were a lot of emotions, as you might imagine. One that stood out to me the most was the feeling of being robbed of a big sister I could have had my whole life, of me being a little sister who could have helped her overcome her demons. The bond was instant, and I am so thankful for that. Fast forward a few weeks, Dad submits his DNA to Ancestry, and of course it comes back that she IS in fact, his child. Wooohoo! Sister number 1...

I’m going about my day (again), doing my Orangetheory thing (which I LOVE—I’ll save that for another time), and when I came out, I had a missed call from my dad and a text from my new sister, so I thought “what now”? The text said that we have ANOTHER SISTER. At this point, I had barely wiped the sweat off my face, and I could not believe it. WHAT WAS HAPPENING? I was already sharing my dad with one person, now I have to share him with two?! I know that sounds selfish, but try having your dad to yourself for 40 years, have this happen to you, and see how that makes you feel. So sister number 1 tells me all about her, and get this, she and sister 1 are only 4 months apart in age. Dad was a busy boy in 1971, I guess. We joke about it now but yeesh. Turns out, this sister also lives close, like in the same city. She submitted her DNA to Ancestry just a few weeks after sister 1 and I found out we were related. The madness of it all was just...mad.

Hanging out with sister number 1, I decided, since I’m on a roll, might as well rip that band-aid off again, so I set up a meeting with sister 2 that day. Within minutes sister 1 and I were on our way to meet our new sister. Oddly enough, I wasn’t nervous at all. When we got to her house, she was standing outside, and she got in my car, we all hugged, and when I looked at her, I could not believe my eyes. She was our dad’s TWIN. I’m talking, Dad with long blonde hair and red lipstick. We decided to go have dinner and drinks, and when we were together, it was like I had known them all my life (mind you, sister 2 hadn’t met our dad yet). We didn’t have to work at anything, which was amazing. I just thought, as I looked at my oldest daughter sitting next to me, we just went from the smallest family ever to now having aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews. I mean, I have a 30 year old nephew, a 24 year old niece, and I have GREAT NIECES AND A GREAT NEPHEW! I had no one before!! Seriously! I can’t make this crap up!

Finally it was time for her to meet Dad. Sister 2, he said he knew about, and that she was given up for adoption by her mother. Hmmm, good to know...now. Anyway, they met on their own, had some one on one time, and when sister 1 and I arrived eventually, I looked at sister 2 and Dad side-by-side, and my thoughts were confirmed...TWINS!

There are so many little things that have gone on since meeting my first sister, but I will say this, I am happier than I could ever be. I have two sisters!!!! I always wanted a sibling. I didn’t really think it would take this long, but hey...I’ll take it. We are only a few months in to getting to know each other, and I am SO thankful that I will have them for a long, long time. I love my family!

Side note: Be aware of what you might find if you decide to submit your DNA. You may just end up with a whole new family! Did someone say Maury?

extended family
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About the Creator

Andrea Ortiz

I’m a single mom of two girls. My life has been SO SCATTERED that I’ve decided to start a blog. I’ve always said (regarding my life) that I couldn’t even make this stuff up. I have so many things to say, and I’m glad I found this platform!

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