New Family Member

Here's a recent photo of my girl and me at The Tragically Hip concert in September. Such a good time :)

And.....Here's my daughter and her newly discovered half sister - Hannah!

I don't know if I've ever blogged about Kazi's dad. He had (has) issues. Understatement. I'm not going to get into all of that. Ancient history. Let's just say that l still have anger simmering way down deep. Not because of anything he did to me (well maybe a little!) but because when Kazi was 12 he stopped coming to see her. Hard to imagine, I know, but true nonetheless. Which explains why I get Mother's Day AND Father's Day cards from Kazi.

Matching sweaters for sisters :)

When Kazi was 16 we found out that her dad had had another daughter. At that point Hannah was a baby and Kazi wasn't ready to be a sister. When I got back from Ireland Kazi told me that Hannah had been "liking" Kazi's posts on Facebook and Instagram. She didn't know who Hannah was but checked out her FB profile and discovered that she was her sister! And she lives in London...with her dad.

Apparently her mother has severe mental health issues and no longer has custody of Hannah. They would have to be VERY severe since now her dad has custody. We will say he is trying to be a good parent this time around. I don't know for sure and have no intention of seeing him. Kazi wants a relationship with Hannah, but not so much her dad though she will have to see him to some extant as Hannah is just 12. She is coming for a sleepover this Friday as she wants to get to know me too. I am good with that.

Hannah adores Kazi. Her dad has talked to her about Kazi and gave Hannah Kazi's name as her middle name. She has had photos of Kazi and took it upon herself to find Kazi through social media. She's even in French Immersion, just like Kazi was.

I hope that they can establish a good relationship. Hannah's at that age where she needs good female role models and Kazi is very willing to be a big sister and provide guidance through those difficult teenage years. I am VERY proud of her for diving right in. She's handling herself really well and navigating through her dad's issues like a pro. This is one of those moments when you realize that your kid has turned out really well :) and doesn't it feel good!!

I never badmouthed him to her but honestly answered any questions she's had over the years. So she knows about his struggles but not all the gory details. 

So that's our excitement for this week!  Try to beat that!!