Sadyang totoo ang kasabihang “love is lovelier the second time around,” at sa kaso ng isang couple, nangyari ang kanilang pagbabalikan matapos ang higit 50 years.
Ito ang love story nina Dennis Vinar at Karen Lehmann sa Minnessota, U.S.A., noong late 1950s.
Noong sila ay high school teenagers, nagkakilala, at nag-date noong 1958.
“We were teenagers, we fell in love with each other, we could not stand to be apart. One thing led to another and I just got pregnant,” ani Karen sa interview ni Steve Harvey noong April 2021.
Nag-propose si Dennis kay Karen at umoo ang huli. Subalit tinutulan ito ng mga magulang ni Karen.
“I was not allowed to see Karen. It was a very difficult time when you wanted to be with the one you love,” pagbabalik-tanaw ni Dennis.
Isinilang ni Karen ang isang anak na babae. At sinabihan siyang ipaampon ito.
“My parents thought it would be better if we gave the child up for adoption,” ani Karen.
“When I delivered the baby, I called in [Dennis] if he wanted to come and sign the birth certificate, and hold her. And he said, ‘Yes, definitely.’ So that was the last time we saw her.”
Naghiwalay ng landas sina Dennis at Karen. Pumasok si Dennis sa Army at nag-aral sa college si Karen.
“Five decades we were separated with no communication, but I never stopped thinking about Karen,” sabi ni Dennis.
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RECONNECTING AFTER 50 YEARS
Pagsapit daw ng 2014, isang kakilala ang nagmungkahi kay Dennis na mag-join sa LinkedIn.
Naisipan daw ni Dennis na i-search ang pangalan ni Karen sa search bar ng LinkedIn.
“And there she was on the third person down,” sabi ni Dennis.
Tinawagan daw ni Dennis si Karen at nakapag-usap sila.
Ang unang itinanong daw ni Dennis ay ang relationship status ni Karen.
Pareho raw silang single.
Ikinuwento ni Dennis nang sinundo siya ni Karen.
“She pulled up the curb at the airport in Seattle. She came running out.
“And she saw me and she jumped out of her car. She ran out and she jumped on me. Then she wrapped her legs around me, and we kissed. And I just thought to myself, ‘You made it home, Baby.’”
Walang sinayang na sandali ang dalawa, lalo pa’t maraming taon na ang nawala sa kanila.
“I did take him home and I cooked dinner and we stayed up until the wee hours of the morning," ani Karen.
“Rekindling our romance that night, we decided we were going to get married 24 hours later.”
Isa na lang ang kulang sa kanilang reunion, ang kanilang anak.
REUNITING WITH THEIR DAUGHTER AFTER 50 YEARS
Natunton ang adoption agency na nagpaampon sa kanilang anak na si Jean, na noong 2021 ay 55 years old na.
“We did some research with the adoption agency and by the grace of God we located her,” ani Dennis.
Sabi ni Jean, “Imagine being 55 years old and you hear that your parents are together, and they’re looking for you and my heart was pounding…”
Sang-ayon ang tatlo sa pagsasabing “unreal” ang pakiramdam nila nang magkita-kita.
“To see her in person and then to find out that she was so excited to see us and then hugging each other, and it was the most heartwarming experience I’ve ever had,” sabi ni Karen.
"The feeling was absolutely, totally unbelievable. Something I’ve never experienced but we found our daughter,” sabi ni Dennis.
Saad naman ni Karen, “I had never any emotions like that either. The feeling was almost overwhelming.”
Para kay Jean, ang nangyari ay “pretty amazing, pretty incredible.”
Paliwanag niya, “Some of those pieces of the puzzle, they’re found, they’re put back together again. The questions that you have when you’re raised.
“I was raised by a very loving family, but you still have questions about who you are and your identity.”
Nakilala raw ni Jean ang kanyang biological family at relatives.
Pero bakas sa sagot ni Jean na malaki ang impact nito sa kanyang buhay lalo pa’t nangyari ito na siya ay nasa 50s na.
“You’re 54 years old, you get this letter in the mail, and you find out that your parents together are looking for you and that they just got married. Oh my gosh!”
Sa parte naman ni Karen, inamin niyang may agam-agam siyang makipag-ugnayan kay Jean, pero si Dennis ang nagpumilit.
“After Dennis and I got married, there were a number of times when Dennis would ask me, ‘Have you thought about looking for our daughter?’ And at that time at 54 [age of Jean], I didn’t see any reason why we should interfere in her life.
“But Dennis persisted, and he had several reasons why we should look for her.
“But it was the one comment that he made one day that turned the corner when he said, ‘Karen, I found you now, my life. It would be complete if we would find our daughter.’ After that, I couldn’t say no.”
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