Only Regret: We Didn't Register Sooner!
My 14 year-old daughter, Lexie, and I registered on the DSR site in late June. Lexie sent emails to the matches with the same donor number and within minutes, we were getting emails back!
We've now exchanged pictures with most of the other families. I think Lexie was a bit disappointed because there's not a lot of resemblance there. I reminded her that even kids who have the same Mother and Father don't always look that much alike. They all do all have fair hair and similar noses. The other kids are a bit younger and some have their own siblings, so with some families it may end there for now, just exchanging photos and staying in touch periodically.
We live in Canada and so far all the people we've heard from are in the US. We see that there are 2 Canadian families who are registered, but neither have answered, I think one is no longer a valid email address. Oh well, maybe someday.
The best news in all of this is that one of Lexie's half brothers, who is from Kansas and who's 15, got in touch with her and they've become very close. At first, they exchanged texts, and the second day Briley and Lexie face-timed for 3 1/2 hours, taking breaks for dinner at different times because of the two-hour time difference. It is really weird because they are both super musical and the donor is a music teacher, they also like a lot of the same things, so their communication has been super easy and they've learned a lot about the other's country. They both seem super well-adjusted and they have great family support and great groups of friends who are supportive and interested in this journey. At our latest family get together, a few weeks ago, Lexie was showing all her Aunts, Uncles and cousins pictures of her half siblings.
Lexie and Briley have been having a really great time getting to know each other and I've also been corresponding with Briley's Mom. We were both concerned that we didn't want them to start down this road and the other person lose interest and our child get hurt, but that certainly does not seem to be the case, they seem to be in it for the long haul.
Now we're trying to figure out how our 2 families can get together in person at some point in the future.
My only regret in terms of the DSR: that I didn't do it sooner!