I say a "new" family member, but Brian was born 2 months before I graduated from high school, back in 1974. I say "new" because I didn't know of his existence until late Thursday night, and I had no knowledge of our familial relationship until Friday morning. I feel an almost euphoric high, and I can barely imagine how Brian himself feels. When I got home from the Grand Jury Thursday night, there was a request from a man to become a friend on Facebook. I did not recognize his name, though he looked vaguely familiar. We had no mutual friends, and I was curious as to why he wanted to be-friend a white-haired older woman. I checked out his friends list, and didn't see any "red flags" against saying Yes. The next morning, yesterday, I got the surprise question.
Now, to be clear, my Facebook account has my maiden name listed, so I'm plainly Betty Nocks Devine. The Nocks family is pretty rare on the ground these days. As far as I knew, other than a few cousins who found me a few months ago, there were only 6 or 7 male Nocks family members in existence - and none of them were from my direct descent male line. Brian, in his first message to me, asked if I knew of, or recognized a specific name. I did. It was the name of my first cousin, who passed away in 2006. I never knew that this cousin had any children. It seems that Brian was put up for adoption in 1975.
I'm not certain how long Brian has been seeking his birth father's family - but he has been welcomed and rejoiced over. He has multiple first cousins (I'm his first cousin, once removed) and he met one yesterday, and was sent family photos of his father and grandparents. In the photo that Brian has posted on Facebook, he is wearing a ball cap and a big pair of sunglasses. He sent me a photo of himself without either, and I could tell him that he was the image of his grandfather, my Uncle, and he also looks almost exactly like his father. There's no denying the genetic heritage - he is a Nocks family member, through and through. I'm still on an awfully happy high feeling - I never thought that helping someone confirm their heritage could make me feel so very good!
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