Zoe's Long Lost Uncle

This is definitely the sort of posting that one never knows how to write. It’s about family. As those in the adoption community know very well, our perspectives of “traditional” family become fluid and must be redrawn and restructured within our own expanded narratives. We also know that at some point in the future, in one form or another, our children may set out on a quest to discover their biological roots. And the family narrative may shift again. Well, this past week was all about redefining our family structure.

Perhaps the most forthright way to phrase it is that we recently made a short trip to visit Julian’s parents in Regina to meet Zoe’s long lost (and now favourite) Uncle Geoffrey. Geoffrey is Julian’s half-brother from his Dad’s first marriage. Following more than 60 years of separation, father and son were recently reunited following a genealogy trace thanks to Geoffrey’s nephew, Dan. A recent mid-winter day of surfing in Noosa prompted Geoffrey to venture from his home in Brisbane, Australia to Regina for a two-week reunion. Given our own recent extensive travels and upcoming school years, we were fortunate enough to be able to co-ordinate our schedules in order to overlap for a small component of this event.
What a thrill it was to meet Geoffrey and welcome another son/brother/uncle into the family! This is simply the beginning of what we anticipate will become a lasting family relationship.


Geoffrey and John - reunited in Regina.  The Saskatchewan Legislative Building is in the background.

John (seated) and his three sons, (L to R) Mark, Geoffrey, and Julian

John, Geoffrey, and Julian

 

 

Zoe quickly bonded with Uncle Geoffrey!



Their mutually playful natures assisted in the bond.

During any visit with Grandma, Zoe always loves her “play, play, play” sessions and they managed to squeeze as many of these as possible into the short timeframe available. The bonus of blending another attentive, new-found relative into the mix was not an opportunity that she could easily forego. Geoffrey being a grandfather, himself, was obviously quite accustomed to accommodating the non-stop whirlwind of a 5 year-old with no apparent “off switch” – all done with gracious enjoyment and his laidback good humour. In spite of this, plenty of time had been set aside for other activities.


Balloon heads were the inspiration for several games, the favourite of which was the uncles bombarding Zoe with them as she ran the gantlet - over and over and over.  Uncle Geoffrey and Uncle Mark were equally adept at bombarding without spilling a drop of sherry.

No trip to Regina is complete without a trip to the farm where Uncle Mark boards and rides his horses.

Uncle Mark and Dino



Zoe on Dino.  Her riding highlight was when Dino walked over one of the low jumps.





The true highlight for Zoe was being able to help groom Dino.  Prior to the trip she knew we would visit the horses and kept asking to learn how to groom.  Uncle Mark offered perfect instruction and opportunity.

 







A stable girl's job is never done.

With barn chores done, it was time to clean up for family photos. 

Zoe with her other favourite Yeomans uncle, Mark.

Zoe teaching Uncle Mark how to play Angry Birds.

Our short visit to Regina provided us with a perfect opportunity to become acquainted with Geoffrey. As with all family dynamics, we had to provide Zoe with a detailed perspective of where she fits within the broader family realm and exactly who the main characters are and how they are related to her – this aspect is incredibly important for adoptive families, in particular. Upon consideration of the family details, she exclaimed that it was almost as confusing as trying to figure out the cast of characters in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” (she has recently been introduced to a few Shakespearean plays). Clearly an understatement! That said, there is now a larger family gathering being planned in Australia for March of next year when John, Elaine and Mark (Julian’s parents and brother from Regina) will be in Sydney for the start of a cruise. Perhaps we might need to start making arrangements to attend this event, ourselves, since this family cannot seem to have enough “bloody Yeomans”! J