Meeting Mioara. (Part 2)

Back in Deva, we got ourselves settled in at the villa we would stay at for the next few nights. We were now a half hours drive from my birth moms village. With shaking hands I messaged my birth mom, asking her if she would meet me in Orastie in the evening. I anxiously waited for what felt like an hour for her to reply, but in reality it was only a few minutes. She messaged me back, her messages filled with hearts, smiley faces and exclamation marks. It brought a smile to my face and my heart skipped a beat. Excitement and fear going through me, we agreed to meet in front of a restaurant in Orastie. Talking with my parents, I assumed they would want to come along. They told us they thought it would be best if Matt and I would go alone. Surprised, I asked them why. They didn’t really have a direct answer, and said they thought it was something Matt and me needed to do together by ourselves. A lot of thoughts went through my mind in a short amount of time. We had come all this way, and now I was suppose to go meet my birth mom without them? They were the ones who knew and remembered her. All I had was stories and pictures. How could I do this without them along? At first, I was sad, the thought of going without them felt so scary and alone. They have always been by me and supported me through everything I have ever gone through, and now they thought it was best if Matt and I went alone? For a few seconds, I was transported back in time to when I was a young girl and had done something my dad had specifically told me not to do. I was all alone, outside in the dark and cold, scared, without any way of contacting my dad. I managed to find a phone to call him, surrounded by people I was scared of and didn’t know. He came to me and brought me home. I remembered how alone and scared I had felt, but how my dad was there for me, protecting me and keeping me safe. Right now I felt the same. In this country surrounded by people who spoke broken English and whom I didn’t know. Feeling scared and alone, I thought I needed my parents, along with my husband and me. All the support I could physically get I needed, way out here in this strange land. At the time, I didn’t understand their reasoning. One thought that consoled me was that every decision my parents have ever made regarding me, was made with my best in mind. Faith was something I knew I needed. Matt talked with me a while, making me feel better about everything. We prayed together before we left, and slowly I felt a calmness come over me. It wasn’t going to be easy, but I would be ok.

It was a fairly quiet drive to Orastie that evening. We felt excitement and nervousness come and go. The sun was setting, casting a golden glow on the hills and fields around us, the road shiny from the light rain. It was beautiful. A rainbow appeared, giving us hope and reminding us of God’s protection. Darkness came as we arrived in Orastie. As we neared the place we had agreed to meet at, my heart started thumping in my chest, and my hands got clammy. I asked Matt to drive by first, so I could regain my composure and to see if my birth mom was actually there. True to her word she was, standing there with her husband and a few other people. I immediately recognized her from a short distance away. We turned around and drove back, into the parking lot. Being so worried about the emotions I was feeling, I forgot that Matt would be having feelings of his own too. It hit me as he parked the car, just how nervous he was. He parked beside a brick wall lined with trash disposal bins, driving up so close I couldn’t open my door all the way, making it difficult to get out of the car. I almost panicked. What a way to start this off! Barely comprehending what was happening, I squeezed out of the car. It was cool outside. Before I could even take a step forward, she was there. Wrapping her arms tightly around me, kissing my face and hands. Hugging her back, we stood there for a long while, with our arms around each other, sobbing tears of happiness and also sadness. It felt unreal, like a dream. She would stop in between and put her hands around my face, and we’d look at each other as if in disbelief. Completely tongue tied, I stood there. Slowly things started coming into focus. I looked into her dark brown eyes, and wiped away a tear rolling down her cheek. I tried to talk, but no words would come. Finally I managed to say, hello mom, I’m here. My voice broke and a flood of tears started all over again. She pulled my head down to her shoulder, talking softly to me in Romanian. The only words I understood were, Bianca te iubesc, frumoaso. (I love you, beautiful.) She tried to comfort me, rubbing my back, like only a mother can. I felt an overpowering and immediate connection to her. A connection that has always been there, only now it was a physical connection, not just emotional. A feeling of warmth and familiarity. I wondered what she was thinking and feeling. She remembered me, and had held me as a baby. But I didn’t remember her. Was there anything about me that was familiar to her? I loved her so much it hurt. It was the most amazing feeling ever, to love someone I had never met before, so much. I tried to imagine how it would feel to be in her situation, finding it hard to fathom. Eventually the tears subsided, and I realized there were actually others around me, waiting to say hi. Very friendly, they introduced themselves with a firm handshake and a hug. Her husband Stelica, had come along. Also his daughter Aurelia, and her boyfriend, Feri. A friend of theirs from their village had driven them to town to meet us. After a few minutes of friendly conversation, Stelica asked us if we would like to have coffee together and we readily agreed, happy to go into a warmer place.

Mioara asked to ride with us, and we followed the others in our car to a coffee shop nearby. The atmosphere was warm and cozy. We all sat around a table and ordered coffees. Google translate was a very vital part of our communication. Sitting there beside my birth mom sipping coffee felt so normal, and yet was something I had never done before. We laughed and carried on as if this was a daily occurrence. To anyone looking on, it would have appeared we had known each other all our lives. The connection Matt and I felt is indescribable. This was our family! We were elated! Mioara and I sat there with our arms around each other, occasionally looking into each others eyes. Our conversation was simple but meaningful. We visited for a long while around that table, laughing at our attempts to understand each other, and smiling through our tears. Emotions overwhelmed every single person there, including the waitress when she found out what was happening. It was like the best dream ever, so good I didn’t want to wake up from it. Finally it felt like I was getting some answers to chapters of my life that had no ending. We learned a lot, some good and happy things, and some very sad. There was so much to say and it already felt like time was running out. Matt and I would have sat there all night if no one had told us it was time to go now. Our waitress and everyone else around our table found it humorous that we didn’t understand the coffee shop was about to close. Eventually they got the point across, and we stepped out. We talked a while outside before we left, making plans to meet again the next day. After many hugs and kisses, we drove away. It tore on my heart to leave that night, even though I knew we would see them tomorrow. I had made a connection, one I never wanted to lose. On the drive back to Deva, Matt told me, I didn’t know we had such close family living so far away. There was no better way to explain it, I felt the same too. Immense feelings of love and happiness. This was my long lost family. And we were finally reunited! I was so happy! And though I still had some fear, it was slowly going away. Now I just wanted to enjoy this time. I’d face what I was scared of when the time came, I thought to myself. My mom and dad were very happy to hear things had gone well. And I began to understand why they wanted Matt and I to go alone the first time. Now I could hardly wait for them to be able to meet my birth mom also. Things were slowly coming together bit by bit. I felt overwhelming gratitude for this miracle happening.

I love the Romanian countryside. Rolling hills as far as you could see, blooming trees in the springtime, a few little buildings scattered randomly over the hillsides with sheep grazing close by. There was not much farm land. The land that could have been farmed was instead a big grassy field. It was truly picturesque and beautiful.