This I Believe
I believe that family isn’t only determined by genetics.
It was November 7th, 2016 and I was walking to get some food for dinner when my phone rang. My sister Sophia was calling me. “Hello?”
“Jen… Elizabeth’s dad died.”
When she said Elizabeth I wondered to myself, ‘who’s Elizabeth?’ My little sister Alexandra has a best friend named Elizabeth but she’s eleven and that’s impossible.
“Who’s Elizabeth?” I asked her, calm and content. “It’s not our little Elizabeth of course, it can’t be.”
“Yes Jen… it is. It’s our Elizabeth. It’s her dad. He had a heart attack a couple of hours ago.”
At the sound of those words my vision became obscured and I needed to sit down. How could this be possible?
The air was fresh and warm; warm for November 7th at least. I didn’t know what to think or what to do. In a moment of sheer despair, I hung up the phone and wondered who would walk Elizabeth down the aisle in fifteen years.
Elizabeth is not biologically my sister, but I believe that in my heart she is and that’s all that matters. She’s around my house a lot; she always has been. Not to mention I was her babysitter for years. Her laugh is illuminating and her smile is captivating. She has the biggest heart and she’s filled with love and happiness. She may be the loudest human being I have ever come across but no matter how much of a headache she gives you, it’s impossible to not love her. She’s brutally honest and absolutely beautiful. She’s my third little sister and I believe that family isn’t only determined by genetics.
When I got that phone call I wanted nothing more than to hug Elizabeth but I was over 300 miles away in Columbia, MO and she was in her tiny house in Skokie, IL and I had class twelve hours later so being able to see her was completely out of the question.
Elizabeth means the world to me and she has since the day I met her. She’s been around me since she was born and I couldn’t be more thankful because she’s one of my biggest blessings. But when her dad died, so did a part of her and that’s expected because our parents shape us into who we’re going to be. When her dad died I was given the responsibility to play an older sister figure and I believe that family isn’t only determined by genetics.
When I finally got to hug her the night I got home for thanksgiving break everything felt right in my heart again. I was in pain not being able to be there for this child who I have grown to love so much over the years. The hug meant everything.
Tears welled up in her eyes; tears welled up in mine
Elizabeth doesn’t have a dad anymore and she never will again, however, Elizabeth wasn’t born with an older sister and she has one now.
I believe that family isn’t only determined by genetics.
It was November 7th, 2016 and I was walking to get some food for dinner when my phone rang. My sister Sophia was calling me. “Hello?”
“Jen… Elizabeth’s dad died.”
When she said Elizabeth I wondered to myself, ‘who’s Elizabeth?’ My little sister Alexandra has a best friend named Elizabeth but she’s eleven and that’s impossible.
“Who’s Elizabeth?” I asked her, calm and content. “It’s not our little Elizabeth of course, it can’t be.”
“Yes Jen… it is. It’s our Elizabeth. It’s her dad. He had a heart attack a couple of hours ago.”
At the sound of those words my vision became obscured and I needed to sit down. How could this be possible?
The air was fresh and warm; warm for November 7th at least. I didn’t know what to think or what to do. In a moment of sheer despair, I hung up the phone and wondered who would walk Elizabeth down the aisle in fifteen years.
Elizabeth is not biologically my sister, but I believe that in my heart she is and that’s all that matters. She’s around my house a lot; she always has been. Not to mention I was her babysitter for years. Her laugh is illuminating and her smile is captivating. She has the biggest heart and she’s filled with love and happiness. She may be the loudest human being I have ever come across but no matter how much of a headache she gives you, it’s impossible to not love her. She’s brutally honest and absolutely beautiful. She’s my third little sister and I believe that family isn’t only determined by genetics.
When I got that phone call I wanted nothing more than to hug Elizabeth but I was over 300 miles away in Columbia, MO and she was in her tiny house in Skokie, IL and I had class twelve hours later so being able to see her was completely out of the question.
Elizabeth means the world to me and she has since the day I met her. She’s been around me since she was born and I couldn’t be more thankful because she’s one of my biggest blessings. But when her dad died, so did a part of her and that’s expected because our parents shape us into who we’re going to be. When her dad died I was given the responsibility to play an older sister figure and I believe that family isn’t only determined by genetics.
When I finally got to hug her the night I got home for thanksgiving break everything felt right in my heart again. I was in pain not being able to be there for this child who I have grown to love so much over the years. The hug meant everything.
Tears welled up in her eyes; tears welled up in mine
Elizabeth doesn’t have a dad anymore and she never will again, however, Elizabeth wasn’t born with an older sister and she has one now.
I believe that family isn’t only determined by genetics.