A clarification, for those who don't already know
If you've followed a link to this page, it means that a primer for the many names of people in my family is in order, because I'll be throwing names around in the entry in question. If you already know and understand all of this, then you can skip it. I wrote this a while ago to make some sense of the confusing bunch of people that make up my family. My intention initially in writing this was to lay it all out, officially, to clear things up and make it easier to understand when I talk about them. I know it's going to be complicated, to some degree, no matter how well I lay it out. Hopefully I come close enough here for the purpose of understanding whatever entry led you here.
I was adopted at the age of 5 days. I refer to my adoptive parents as "Mom" and "Dad", and often refer to my birthmother as "mother" or by her name, Mary Ann. I refer to my birthfather as "father" or by his name, Roger. I do this for a reason. In the English language, technically, "mom" means "the woman who raised you", and "mother" means "the woman who gave birth to you." (I know this distinction exists in other languages, particularly Spanish and French.) The distinction gets muddied a bit in everyday usage, because usually it's the same woman. In my case, it isn't. (The same distinction exists for "dad" and "father", by the way.) My dad remarried in 1990, and my stepmom's name is Colleen. I will usually refer to her by first name.
Mom passed away in 2006. If you want to read about that period of my life, then you should check out the mom tag.
When I talk about my siblings, there are two that I have met. Mikki (mikkigoat, but she never updates) is my older sister, or big sister; she was adopted about two years ahead of me, from a different set of birthparents, and Lilly is my younger sister, or little sister, technically my half-sister (we share the same mother, but not the same father). I say that I have met because I know my father has at least two other children, and I have not sought out that side of my biological family as of yet. I might at some point in the future, but so far every time I have had the inclination, I have lacked either the time or the money to do so. His name, just for the record, is Roger, but if I ever refer to him, I'll probably say my father or birthfather.
When I speak of my (living) grandmother, I am talking about my dad's stepmom. She is the only living grandparent I have (again, that I have met). My dad's parents divorced when I was a year old, and his father remarried when I was about 8 or 9. Both his mother and father passed away a while ago, his mother in 1993 and his father in 1995. My mom's parents have both passed away too, her father in 1979 and her mother in 1996. Both of Mary Ann's parents passed away as well, her mother in 1997 and her father probably about 1981, well before I knew any of them. So it's just easier to say "grandmother" to refer to the one who is still around, although we call her Mary as well. Awfully rude of her to have such a close name to my mother, don't you think?
Just to make things really complicated, Mikki also knows her mother (Lynn), and has two other sisters thru her, Connie and Kim.
When I talk about my nephews, Jordan and Donovan, they are Mikki's kids. So far she is the only sibling with children. And her husband, my brother-in-law, is Lee. His family is huge, but I don't think I mention them much, if at all. (If I do, then I guess I'll have to revise this page yet again.)
The most common people to get discussed in my journal are Mikki, Lilly, Mom, Dad, and Mary Ann/my mother. Understand those, and you'll probably get whatever it is that I'm saying.
I was adopted at the age of 5 days. I refer to my adoptive parents as "Mom" and "Dad", and often refer to my birthmother as "mother" or by her name, Mary Ann. I refer to my birthfather as "father" or by his name, Roger. I do this for a reason. In the English language, technically, "mom" means "the woman who raised you", and "mother" means "the woman who gave birth to you." (I know this distinction exists in other languages, particularly Spanish and French.) The distinction gets muddied a bit in everyday usage, because usually it's the same woman. In my case, it isn't. (The same distinction exists for "dad" and "father", by the way.) My dad remarried in 1990, and my stepmom's name is Colleen. I will usually refer to her by first name.
Mom passed away in 2006. If you want to read about that period of my life, then you should check out the mom tag.
When I talk about my siblings, there are two that I have met. Mikki (mikkigoat, but she never updates) is my older sister, or big sister; she was adopted about two years ahead of me, from a different set of birthparents, and Lilly is my younger sister, or little sister, technically my half-sister (we share the same mother, but not the same father). I say that I have met because I know my father has at least two other children, and I have not sought out that side of my biological family as of yet. I might at some point in the future, but so far every time I have had the inclination, I have lacked either the time or the money to do so. His name, just for the record, is Roger, but if I ever refer to him, I'll probably say my father or birthfather.
When I speak of my (living) grandmother, I am talking about my dad's stepmom. She is the only living grandparent I have (again, that I have met). My dad's parents divorced when I was a year old, and his father remarried when I was about 8 or 9. Both his mother and father passed away a while ago, his mother in 1993 and his father in 1995. My mom's parents have both passed away too, her father in 1979 and her mother in 1996. Both of Mary Ann's parents passed away as well, her mother in 1997 and her father probably about 1981, well before I knew any of them. So it's just easier to say "grandmother" to refer to the one who is still around, although we call her Mary as well. Awfully rude of her to have such a close name to my mother, don't you think?
Just to make things really complicated, Mikki also knows her mother (Lynn), and has two other sisters thru her, Connie and Kim.
When I talk about my nephews, Jordan and Donovan, they are Mikki's kids. So far she is the only sibling with children. And her husband, my brother-in-law, is Lee. His family is huge, but I don't think I mention them much, if at all. (If I do, then I guess I'll have to revise this page yet again.)
The most common people to get discussed in my journal are Mikki, Lilly, Mom, Dad, and Mary Ann/my mother. Understand those, and you'll probably get whatever it is that I'm saying.