And the bad times

My oldest son and I have been estranged for almost 10 years. I am trying to work things out to mend the rift in our relationship. But it has been difficult. There have been family functions to which I have not been invited although my older children have. I have mixed feelings about this. At time I feel betrayed. At others I figure at least I can hear about him. He is married (he and his now wife lived with us for several months in the late 90s when their home was ruined in the aftermath of a terrible snowstorm) and last December they had a baby girl. I have never seen her although she does have my middle name (and that of my mother, for whom she is really named). But this picture of little Tea Renee is too precious. As a grandmother I have to embrace this child. It breaks my heart that I have missed so much. She was baptized at our family's old church Friday night and I was not invited. My daughter took this picture beforehand. I pray every day that my son will be able to let the past be behind him and think about the future. For what a legacy is this to this baby?

Pre-Halloween Fun

40 pounds of pumpkins - $24.00

Lunch out with family - $50.00

A day with our granddaughter (and son) - Priceless

Review: Identical Strangers by Paula Bernstein and Elyse Schein

Growing up Stacie (Elyse) Schein felt she was always missing something. When, in her mid 30s she finds she has an identical twin sister she wants to meet her more than anything.

At first it would appear that the two women couldn’t be more different. Stacie (who goes by her middle name, Elyse by this time) lives a bohemian existence in a cramped Paris apartment. Paula is married and has a young daughter. But on closer inspection they are both film critics, both have an older brother (also adopted). It isn’t long after they find out about each other that the two meet – and are stunned.

Although this book says it is a memoir, it is much more than that. The two women discover soon after they meet that the reason they were split up was for an experiment being performed on twins and triplets who were intentionally separated for the study. Told in alternating points of view by both Paula and Elyse, they go into different twin studies, give statistics on twins, and much more.

As they find out more answers, they have more questions, the final one being who was their mother and why were they given up?

I couldn’t put this book done (read on my Kindle). As a mother of twins (even though they are fraternal – boy/girl) I probably had a higher interest in the story than someone who didn’t have twins but this is recommended to all. The rather shocking reasons for the study coupled with the story of their birth mother had me clicking through the book at a feverish pace, wondering how it was all going to turn out.

This book is well-written, interesting, and unputdownable – the perfect read.