My First Reunion -- Aunt Helen

I land in Johannesburg at 8:35 a.m. on Wednesday morning, the 31st of March. Since I have an 8-hour layover, my aunt Helen, Michael's sister, will meet me at the airport to take me out to lunch and to show me around the city. I can't wait to meet her -- she will be the first of many "reunions," and has been such an amazing support to me over the past few months. (In the photo, she is with my second cousin, Leah, who lives in Austin Texas). She and Jennifer were best friends growing up, and she was the first in whom Jennifer confided about me. Here's Helen's description of when she and Jennifer spoke of me before her death:

I will share with you, when I see you, the conversations I had with Jen in

the November 2008 before she died. It was when I went to visit her on the

farm in Livingstone. They were brief conversations, she in her wheel chair

with the dogs and me walking alongside her. It was on one of those walks

that she told me your birth date and where you were born. When I asked if we

could look for you she said that she would like us to. By this stage she

hadn't told Nina and Liam. She felt it was time to tell them so that they

could ask any questions. She was the only person who could answer their

questions. They would have known about you one day and then she wouldn't be

there to talk to them. She expressed how much she had wished Michael was

beside her when she broke the news because she was very nervous, but Chris

helped her through it I know. He was wonderful for her and to her.

 So you are totally right, none of this might have happened if she hadn't
been dying. It feels strange. Fantastic though that something so sad can
bring about some happiness for you and Colette. Your worlds are opening up.

Can't wait to see you, Helen!