Mama's Baby Daddy's Maybe: I Am Not Who I Thought I Was

You can go your whole life believing something is true and all of that can change in an instant.

Tonight's show is brought to you by DB. https://bit.ly/37cP8YP

0:07

Good evening and welcome to my humble podcast abode. I am Cocoa Griot, just a 50- something for geeks out when she has the opportunity to talk to you guys about life, love, and a myriad of other topics. Tonight, I'm bringing you guys a newsflash that had me baffled the entire weekend. I don't know how many of you watched the show So Who Do You Think You Are? I always felt that show we've had a comical title, until I was presented with information that made me question who I am. Last week I talked about what a great father I had, and then a few days later I discovered how much more I needed to celebrate him. An encounter on Ancestry.com helped me to discover that my father was not my biological dad. I know what you're thinking right now, how in the world can you be in your 50s and not know who your bio dad is? Well, let me tell you how that happens. Families and secrets just seem to go hand in hand. When I was approached by someone who was related to my bio dad, I was shocked, but not surprised. All my life, I knew I looked different from my siblings. I was given numerous explanations as to why, but I was never told the reason. People can say a lot of things about Ancestry.com, but I have one thing to say. Thank you! Ancestry.com was the gateway to the fact of me knowing that I'm not who I thought I was. I know I am not the only person who discovered they were not who they that they were. There's a whole group dedicated to a parent not expected, and people getting results that they just could not even fathom existed. There are countless stories like this on the internet, but tonight I'm sharing about the one that is up close and personal. My story is developing, as I learn more and more about the details about how I came to be. Well, I'm going to break it down to you in phases here.

2:22

So, for Christmas I received an Ancestry.com cute for my son Cameron. I didn't know that a simple gift would be the gateway to truth and dismantle a lifetime of lies. I was beyond excited to get my test results. I liked the section that showed my African roots because it was intriguing. When I started looking at my DNA matches, I was very confused. My sister came up, but we didn't share enough DNA to be whole sisters. My whole entire life I was told that we had the same mother and father. I started looking for other relatives on my dad's side of the family that I knew had taken the Ancestry test, but none of them were my DNA matches. There was a fly in the buttermilk, as the old country folk used to say, I just didn't know exactly which fly had landed in the buttermilk. Fast forward a little and I started thinking about the people I didn't recognize as my DNA matches. I felt like they had to be the key to unraveling the mystery of my parentage. Luckily for me, someone who took the test reached out and saw that we had a connection. I was her highest ranking first cousin and she was mine. We started talking about how we might be connected. She laid something in my lap that I was not prepared for. But I know it's true. Her uncle is my biological father. I had so many questions, but one of the first things I wanted to see was this picture. When she sent it to me, tears streamed down my cheeks because I saw all of me in him. Then, uh, well before I go on to the next segment of this story, I want to talk about tonight's sponsor.

4:11

Tonight's episode is brought to you by DB, DB is a Scandinavian brand that makes backpacks and bags to help people on the move, stay ready for anything from the streets to the peaks, DB's gear is traveled tested by some of the world's best athletes adventures and creators. Over the past decade, DB has designed and developed released, and refined the best bags on the market. With DB's patented hookup system, you are able to attach smaller products to your backpack, roller, or tote. I didn't realize this at first, but having a stylish bag or tote when you are traveling gives you a sense of pride. When I upgraded my raggle-taggle luggage, I was happy to stand in a hotel lobby and check-in, minus the luggage envy. I am teaming up with DB to exclusively offer my listeners 10% of your next purchase by using a code POD 10 or going to the link in my show notes. DB, it's time to move on, time to get going!

5:19

Okay, sorry to leave you guys hanging. Let me tell you what happened next. My next move was to find out everything I could about the situation. Then I want to tell you something that is absolutely mind-blowing. My mom had a very good friend that we always visited when I was a child. In fact, she's the only person I could remember that my mom would pack all four of us into the car to go see. My mom's friend is the sister of my biological father. Now I know what you're thinking, but I have absolutely no proof. I'm making it my mission to uncover how much my bio dad knew about me. Dear listeners, please know that when I put all of the pieces of the puzzle together, I'm going to lay it out for you and I will not hold back. I am grateful that after 55 years I know the truth about why I look different from that siblings. I always knew something in my heart, even when people would tell me otherwise.

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Thanks for listening this evening. As always, I wish you good health, good fortune, and a goodnight. Cocoa Griot out.