I remember the day I found out you were going to be coming to our family. We were on a road trip on the way to our grandparents house for the 4th of July when my dad turned down the radio and said, "Alright! Time for a family meeting." Now, my young self didn't really process what he had said so half seriously and half jokingly, I asked "where?" thus making the rest of my family members start laughing. However, that's besides the point. My dad rambled on a little bit, I don't remember the whole conversation because keep in mind that this was four plus years ago, but the one thing that I vividly remember is dad looking at me in the rear-view mirror and saying, "Kaebrie, you're going to be a big sister." I think to this day, that was one of my favorite moments. I had let out a gasp saying "Really?" And dad confirmed, saying we were going to be adopting. Knowing that I would have a little sibling to hang out with and protect when people tried to come after and even though I didn't know you yet, I loved you and I was so excited to have you come to us. The rest of my siblings seemed pretty excited, but I was beyond ecstatic and I remember the days and weeks after going up to everyone at my church saying "I'm going to be a big sister!" And have them confused for a moment before mom told them that we were adopting. I remember seeing a photo of you for the first time. It was an afternoon in September, I was upstairs doing whatever my 8-year-old self was doing (most likely playing with polly pockets) when I decided to go downstairs to ask my mom something, but when I arrived in her office I saw her and Christopher looking at her computer, tears streaming down moms face and a look of shock on Christopher's. "We got the call," she told me, and I immediately ran over to her computer to see that yes, they had and there was a photo of you, my little sister, sitting on a bed in an orphanage looking at who knows what. I remember getting emotional, tears welling up in my eyes as I looked at the photo of you, knowing on the inside that even though mom and dad hadn't confirmed the file that you were the child they wanted, you would be the child they would bring home. Months passed, months filled with paperwork and new pictures of you and finally the day came around where I would be meeting you. Mom, dad, and Kaitlynn went to China for two weeks to go get you while Christopher and I were at our grandparents house. We were both upstairs watching tv, knowing that you all would be getting there later that night but not knowing when, and every once in awhile we would go downstairs to see if you'd gotten there yet. It was the feeling of excitement bubbling up in my whole being, my hands shaking and my stomach twisted in knots because I couldn't wait to see you. Finally after awhile of waiting, Christopher went downstairs and I hadn't seen any car lights pull up in the driveway yet, so I stayed upstairs until finally going down. As I reached the bottom of the stairs, I saw the four of you standing in the entrance way to the living room. Mom holding you in her arms with dad and Kaitlynn standing behind her and I walked into their line of vision and immediately broke down into tears, the rest of the family following. I couldn't believe that after 18 months of waiting, I finally got to meet you. You had no clue who I was and you still had the look of fear in your eyes as you processed seeing all these new people, but I had never been happier to see you. Four years later, here we are. You're a ball of energy who loves her kitty-cat and running outside and going to Sunday school at church. You have your moments, but the majority of the time you're a happy little girl. It'll be years before you read this, but I want you to know that you were a blessing to all of us. I know there's already been times where I've gotten annoyed at you, letting frustration out on you that I should've let out elsewhere and I apologize for that. I promise you that I want to be there with you while you grow up, even through the years of therapy and doctors appointments that you'll have to go through, I want to be the best sister to you. (Forget Kaitlynn, she left you for college.)
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Authordaughter of the king. dancer, lover of music, pretty pun-tastic. Archives
June 2019
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