Becoming Family

Reflections after meeting my brother

Gathered around the island Food laid out with love. Bubbly drinks Cheesy dips.

Connections. Smiles. Sidebars.

The buzz of family. Getting to know each other.

New brother. New sister, new nieces In law.

Tentative smiles turn into belly laughs.

Warmth. Love.

Strangers yesterday Siblings today Family tomorrow

Two years ago, I discovered I had a biological brother. Within days of finding out about his existence, I started my search to find him. It took me six months to connect with him. I’ll never forget the day I got the email, “Greetings from Alaska!”

He’s ten years older than me. His name is Doug, and he has my mom’s eyes and love for reading. He grew up in a loving home 20 miles away from us. I still can’t believe he lived so close to us — the same county!

Since Doug now lives so far away, we needed to wait until a proper trip could be planned for the Lower 48 (he taught me that term!). So email, texts, and Facetime served as our methods for connecting the past two years.

Last month, we met in person for the first time. I still can’t believe it. Doug and his family stayed at our house for a few days. The first night we ate, drank, and looked at old photos. We shared memories of our childhoods.

The next morning, I sat down and wrote this piece in my journal.

Thanks for sharing this experience with me.