“So what do you think about getting a sister,” I faintly remember my mom asking me when I was about 9 years old. I was excited for sure, but had no idea what that would mean.
We arrived in Guatemala as the whole family a little over 16 years ago. My parents had decided to adopt a little girl from Guatemala. We spent a lot of the time touring the country and learning about the culture, before we finally recieved our new member of our family, a cute little black haired two year old. Her name was Jenni.
We got back to the states and after a couple years we got another call from the adoption agency. This time they told us that Jenni’s mom had another baby who was up for adoption. So we discussed it as and my dad went down to get our new sister Emily. There was now four of us. My brother, me, Jenni and Emily.
Jenni is now 18 and has grown into a beautiful young lady, whose smile and laugh can probably change the world. Emily is now 11 and loves to study and play with our dogs. Both have been an amazing addition to our family and I could not imagine it without them.
For the past month I have been back in Guatemala. Some of the places we have been have brought back memories of being here long ago. The biggest thing that I am deaing with as I walk the streets of different towns, is seeing my sisters in the eyes of the little girls passing my by. A lot of the 18 year olds are married with a few kids, and I have had little 11 year olds come to me begging and selling me jewelry they have made. It is has been hard trying to really love all these girls like I would want my sisters to be loved. The questions circle in my mind trying grasp the vast difference in cultures and lifestyles.
I want to learn to treat everyone like they are my sisters or my brothers. I guess I never really know whose little girl I am sharing my life with, or whose brother I am buying some ice cream for. I want to carry this perspective around the world. I want to always remember that every person I meet is a person. They are a mother, daughter, sister, brother, son, father. And all of them deserve our love, we never really know who we are loving, but it never hurts to love someone who has your sisters eyes.
