Sleep Talking & Genealogy Addiction
Just after I hit save on that entry, I closed the lap top, put it in the floor, and rolled over to go to bed. This half-woke up Matt, and he was a little out of it and confused. The following ensued:
Matt: *grumble grumble grumble*
Me: Huh?
Matt: When did we *grumble grumble grumble*
Me: What??
Matt: When did we move?
I had no idea if he was talking about our move from Charlotte, or our very-near-future move to Getzville, or some other move I didn’t know he was talking about? So I waited a second for him to elaborate, and nothing.
Me: I’m sorry, I still don’t know what you’re saying.
Matt: When did we move??
Me: Um, we didn’t?
Matt: *grumble grumble grumble*
Seriously…..I was laughing my ass off as quietly as I could by this point because he was literally just saying random letters in his grumbling…I think I heard an M and a W…maybe an L, too. Then, finally:
Matt: We didn’t just end up here, you have to work to get here.
Me: *laugh* Okay?
And then he sighed, rolled over, and went back to sleep.
I was awake in a quiet fit of laughter for the next 10 minutes….trying to think what he might have been referring to. Did he dream we were in some mansion and he couldn’t remember us getting to that point in our life? That idea made me laugh pretty hard, considering we were squished in our double bed that doesn’t belong to us, in our small room with all of our life’s clutter and chaos. There’s no way in hell anyone would wake up and see our room and think, "wow, this is luxury" lol.
I kind of wish I’d kept him talking for a while 🙂
So, on the ancestry front? Good news & bad news. My Aunt Vix emailed me back and told me my Grandma’s full name, and the names and approx birthdays of my Great-Grandparents. She also confirmed my Dad’s Dad’s last name, but that’s all she knew as well. The bad news is something I’m having trouble wrapping my mind around.
You know how when….you go to the doctor, and they ask you if you have any family history of cancer? And when they say that, they are asking about your parents and Grandparents mostly? I always said no. I didn’t. As far as I knew, this was true. Turns out….my paternal Grandmother, Great-Grandmother, and Great-Grandfather ALL died of lung cancer. Holy, shit.
And? My Great-Grandmother was an institutionalized paranoid schizophrenic who received electroshock therapy for a number of years before being released to her daughter’s (my Grandmother) care, heavily medicated. After they moved from Niagara Falls to CT, she had a nervous breakdown, so they sent her back to the Falls to be cared for in a home, where she died 4 years later of Lung Cancer.
Awesome. So much for Cher.
Something else that’s bothering me…..I just got done saying last night that knowing 3/4 of my lineage was better than knowing 1/2, but turns out…..that 1/4 that’s dark may prove to be the most interesting piece of all. Everyone I’ve previously mentioned (from my mom’s side – as far back as we know), and my Dad’s Mom’s side, is from either Poland or Lithuania (which is a small island near Poland, and they are a very similar group of people).
My Dad’s Dad’s side? His last name is literally the name of a city in Italy. Which leads me to believe the surname was created (or, adapted) by people who lived there. I did know he was Italian – it was one of the biggest surprises for me when we first found my Dad’s sister. I didn’t realize HOW Italian. Unfortunately there’s not a lot of searching I can do – since no one even knows his first name (as far as I know). I googled the name and found a lot about the city and a few posts of people searching for relatives with that name – but I have no way of knowing if they are related to me or not. I’m not even sure that I could check my Dad’s birth certificate – his mom may not have put his Dad on it because he was a one night stand who wasn’t present at all.
Crazy thing? There’s a little plaza down the street from my Dad’s house – literally about 30 seconds driving time. There are little shops and things in it, including an Accountant’s office. The name of the place is the Accountant’s last name – my Dad’s Paternal Father’s last name. What are the chances?? Unfortunately, the office is now closed – so I couldn’t even dig there.
I really…..have a feeling that there may be some Asian on my paternal Grandfather’s side, too. I know that seems weird to say? But it very obviously ISN’T present in any of my other Grandparents (or Great-Grandparents), but there is certainly an Asian influence somewhere in my lineage. I’ve been told by many people – even those who don’t know anything about my past – that I have certain Asian features. My eye lids have the same characteristics – they fold over in the corners (Luke’s do, too). A friend of Matt’s is very into culture (he’s traveled quite a bit! and oddly enough only dates ethnic girls….he’s kind of a weird lol), and he specifically approached me about it one day. He said he didn’t realize I had eyes like him, and I had no idea what he meant. He pointed out the extra fold I have, and pointed it out in his, too. I told him that people have said that to me before – but I never knew what it meant. He said it means somewhere, however distant, there is Asian in my lineage. It would explain the extreme Asian look I had as a baby – even as a kid. Same with Luke – remember his hospital picture??
Hello, China baby! lol
(In case you were wondering – Matt is Polish (hello, have you SEEN our last name??) and a little bit of German).
Check out what a little China doll I was….
I was 3 in this picture. I hope this isn’t narcissistic of me, but this picture REALLY makes me want a little girl who looks like me. (BTW, that’s my dad on the right edge of the picture. He would have been….24. Younger than I am now!! Do I look like him or what??)
Here’s another from that day (it was Easter):
Seriously…..SO Asain lol. (That’s my sister’s head in front of me – she would have been just about 1 year old).
So. Where do I go from here? Well. I’m going to talk to my Grandma & Grandpa to finish up my Mom’s side – my Grandma is REALLY into this sort of thing, too. As far as my Dad’s paternal side? I’m ALMOST crazy enough to start messaging people on facebook with the last name and ask them if they had a male relative born somewhere between 1920-1940 who knew my Grandmother.
Genealogy is addicting!!!