We Got The Phone Call We'd Been Waiting For

But there was a bittersweet downside.

The phone rang. I didn't recognize the name or phone number, but I saw it was from the 610 area code. We had placed two calls to Ray (Nelson's step-dad) asking him to call us and update us on the move, and to see if he needed any last-minute help. So, I decided to answer it.
It was a woman: "I was told that someone there wanted to know something about my Uncle George?".

This was a call we had been waiting for, and Nelson had gotten in to the shower about 2 minutes before. Figures. I spoke to her at length about a few things. She inquired as to how old the boys were, and where they were living/what they were doing with their lives. She said she felt very old because she remembered when the boys were born, and commented on how young they were when George died.

She was very pleasant, and said she'd help us in any way she could, and that the next time we were in the area to call, and we could come over to the house (and to bring pictures and whatnot that we need help on). We're hoping to do just that at the end of the month.
She also reiterated what the other gentleman that I spoke to did, and that was that they tried to keep up with Diane and the boys, but they just disappeared. This upset Nelson a bit. He said that it sucks that he grew up thinking that his dad's side of the family didn't care about them. He said he surmises that his dad's family didn't do something that his mom felt they should have (or a similar situation) around the time of his dad's passing, and that ticked her off. She bitterly held grudges, even ones over the span of decades. They were unaware that Diane had remarried until years later. They never knew Ray. They weren't even 100% sure they were still in the area (they were less than 25 miles away). And through it all, both of the people I talked to had nothing negative to say about Diane (that they were willing to say to me, at least). Makes you wonder.

He feels slighted that he's lost out on having a whole other part of his family that he could have been in contact with. Unfortunately, a lot of the older ones that were his dad's step-brothers and step-sisters are now gone, and that's a shame. He said it might be like someone who was adopted feels like. It's gratifying, and exciting but almost slightly overwhelming at the same time. I know that sometimes it's hard to take people at face value - especially when there's a quantity of unknown information, as is this case. I do, however, have a good bs-o-meter, and I think they're genuine (I have been known to be wrong - but not often).

So here's to looking forward to something good! I'm kind of excited......