Rabbit hole revisited

Going through Ancestry trying to fill in the blanks – again.  I talked to my brother yesterday and besides discussing his divorce, we also talked about our mom.  We concluded that mom never told us anything about her younger life.  The only way I was able to find out anything was through public records located on Ancestry.com.  I could have found these documents by myself, but thankfully, other people are more curious than I am.  I’m still trying to connect all of the random semicircles.  Maybe all of the pieces will fit eventually.  And I’m not so sure it’s even relevant.  Except it might make for a great story.  I found out that an aunt’s husband committed suicide.  I never knew that.  It happened before I was born, so maybe by the time I was old enough to know about it, it was old news and not discussed anymore.   I felt sad for my aunt, but honestly, I’m not sure I remember her.  By the time I was around 10, my mom seemed to have cut off all ties with her sisters.  I don’t have any memories of extended family gatherings after that.  Sad.  Maybe that’s why I always wanted a big noisy family.  I didn’t really get that either as an adult.  We all disappoint in one way or another.

Also, my brother didn’t really give a huge amount of info about his ex-wife.  I didn’t pry too much and I’m sure he’ll open more in later conversations.  He just said she walked in one day and decided she wanted to try something new.  And then the divorce happened.  It’s still hard for me to believe that a 70+ year old woman just decides to divorce and move on.  Most women I know usually have a reason to make a major change and think about it for a while.  They develop plans, etc.  I’d like to know if she’s living alone or has that special someone nearby.  If I had known about this divorce, I think I would have stepped in and found my brother a lawyer along with providing some realistic financial viewpoints.  Making my brother give up everything to pay for his ex-wife’s exit strategy just frosts my cookies.