How I Met My Dad...

My Mother divorced my biological father when I was four years old. It was definitely a case of good riddance to bad rubbish. When I was eight, my Mom's oldest friend, Benta and her Husband, set my Mom up on a blind date with a man that Benta's Husband worked with. His name was Gregg and he was a blessing in disguise.

When we were coming down the stairs (my Mother and Me), Gregg thought she, (my Mother) was the babysitter because she looked so young. They got along well on their first date. As they got to know each other my Mother learned that Gregg had four children from a previous marriage. Kathy, Lorie, Greg & Tom. Now, at that time my name was "Lorie Ann" and Greg told my Mother that his second Daughter's name was "Lorie Ann." It gets better. My birth date is 12/23/64. Lorie's birth date is 12/23/65. My Mother thought he (Gregg) was handing her a line as long as her arm, wouldn't you? She made him prove it by showing her Lorie's birth certificate. Sure enough, our birthday's and names, which were spelled in the more unusual old fashioned way, were the same, we were just a year apart!

As they dated, I got to know the girls better. It was fun for me, but exhausting for them. Being an only child I wanted to do stuff with them non-stop! Instant siblings!

Mom and Gregg dated for four years before they finally decided to take the plunge and get married. When I was twelve, they married and we made the decision that Gregg would adopt me. Now we had a real dilemma. The government would never be able to tell the two of us girls apart. They would assume the different years of our births was just a typo. There was only one thing for it...I got to change my name! My Mother never liked my name anyways, it wasn't her choice, so it was an easy transition for her. We went through several names. I liked Heather Ann and Amber Ann. I found out later my Mother DETESTED Amber Ann, she thought it sounded like a stripper's name. We finally agreed on the name Lynn. But not just Lynn. To meld before and after we chose Loralynn Ann. I love my name. Most people call me Lynn, but I love the name Loralynn. I use Loralynn for business and have a couple of friends that call me by my full name even though they have mostly known me by Lynn.

My Dad (Gregg) was a Godsend. Both for my Mother and me. I definitely needed a positive male role model and he fit the bill perfectly! My children know that he isn't my biological father, but they also know that it takes a lot more to be a Dad than to just make a baby!