They’re probably the closest thing they’ll have to sisters, these two. It’s hard to imagine growing up without the bond of sisterhood, especially when you have the sisters I have. Life is so unbelievably rich.
Amanda and I took them to a movie tonight and then to dinner at one of our favorite digs. They are ending the night with a sleepover at our house. I hear them whispering in the guest bed as I type. I love that this simple yet perfect-in-every-way evening will be catalogued into their bank of collective memories–the foundation being laid to a lifelong relationship of shared joys and sorrows.
As we were crossing the parking lot at the restaurant, I looked down and noticed all four of us holding hands, the littles in the middle. Mothers and daughters, sisters, cousins. The same genes linking us, yet these genes having no bearing on the intense devotion I have to them.
This is an important epiphany when you are traveling the road of adoption. I am thankful that chains of DNA and blood lines are not the driving force behind my love and commitment to them. It proves that blood is in fact not thicker than water. They are simply a few of the people I love the most in the world who just happen to be my family. And as Mama would say, “We have the best.”
Amen. Your Mom was right and so are you!
– Noel
Such special childhood moments! They are adorable. And it amazes me how much E and P look alike these days! I worried, before adopting M, if I would be able to love her as much (every adoptive mommies fear prior to adoption…even if it's not spoken aloud) and it makes me laugh now that I thought that b/c I love her so very much. It is true that DNA isn't the only thing that connects us. It is our shared experiences and our devotion to one another.
Nancy
I've only recently started to follow your blog posts. They are so beautiful and so meaningful and so important to your family. As the mom to 3 children, 2 adopted and 1 birth, I wish I had started journaling much earlier in the journey of life. Not for me, but as my middle school son starts to REALLY ask the why's and how's and what if's, it would be helpful for him to have something written to fall back on. May the peace and joy and strength that comes only from breathing the breath of God continue to be yours. Denise T