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| Just a few members of the King clan. |
My mother was from an island reservation located on beautiful Georgian Bay Ontario and had 11 children in her lifetime what’s so interesting is some of us didn’t grow up together we were separated when we were babies it wasn’t until approximately 7 years ago when we finally met the older members of the family. The reunion was a bit awkward at first but we got over it plus we had one thing in common and that was our mother. I was fortunate to reunite with my mother in my early teen years and watch my younger siblings grow up I would hang out with mother and we got along well I think we had one disagreement when I asked about my father, she got mad at me for asking. Later as young adults we had a ritual once a year or so my brothers & sisters would meet at a tavern or bar and hang out, we'd be dancing, drinking and laughing until closing time. One time my brother Joey drank so much he barfed on the floor and I had to drive him home. :D My sister Leanne would organize the gathering and surprisingly everybody would show up it’s a bond we hold to this day. Unfortunately when we met our older siblings there was a lot of animosity and abandonment issues toward our mother, they were looking for answers and we tried to understand how they felt. Mother passed away many years ago and we did our best to fill in the blanks by explaining her character & personality. You might think this is a tragic story but that was the native way back then. If a single mother couldn’t provide for her child, if possible she would pass the child on to a relative or a native couple and raise them.
I’m writing this in my blog because I attended the King family Thanksgiving gathering in Toronto on Sunday. As I looked around the huge party room and observed my younger siblings enjoying the feast it made me think, look what we've accomplished and how big our family has grown. Leanne, Joey, Cindy, Bruce & I are the only ones who knew our mother and now we’re so glad our older sisters and their children have joined us. :)
I’m proud to say we have so many relatives all over Ontario we could organize our own Reservation. lol
I hope everybody had a wonderful Thanksgiving and thanks for reading my blog.
Tk
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