Today is my sister's last day of being a third grader. It's hard to believe she's going onto the fourth grade next year AND turning 9 in September! I know many of you out there who have known me for a long time can remember when Julie came into all of our lives....
I can still remember the first time I met her.
It was a sunny May afternoon in 2003, and I was wearing my Fear Factor softball uniform and I was waiting at my house with my Grandma Barbara. We weren't sure how the traffic was, and I was nervous that they would take a long time and I would end up having to go to my softball game and see them afterwards. You see, my parents had left two weeks before to go to China and finalize my new baby sister's adoption and bring her home. It was seriously the longest two weeks of my life.
As I sat on the grass in my front yard, waiting, I thought about the first time I saw a picture of her. I was called out of one of my classes and when I went to the office, the secretary handed me a black and white faxed picture of a beautiful little chubby girl. Tears of joy flowed down my 11 year old face. Over the two year adoption process, my family went through a few different names for her. Tadum was the first name, but for the majority of those two years, Carrie Elise Cavanaugh was what we called her. Christmas 2002, we even had one present for "Carrie;" It was a bear from Build-A-Bear Workshop that each of us had put a heart into and we named Carrie's Bear. Carrie was soon to be part of our family. When I got home from school the day I saw her picture, my parents told me that a name had also come with the picture, Ju-Chi Yue. Almost immediatly, my mom suggested that instead of Carrie we name her Julie on the account that going from being called Ju-chi to Julie would be a much smoother transition. From then on, she has always been Julie.
Finally after what seemed like hours, I saw my grandpa's car pull around the corner and park in the driveway. Forgetting about the stupid softball game I ran to the car and was able to finally see my little sister for the first time. Words can't explain what I felt when I saw her, but I knew already that I had never felt so much love for someone in my whole life.
Because when my parents went to China during the whole SARS scare, they and Julie were to be quarantined to the house fro 10 days and because I had been "exposed" I was to be quarantined as well. The 10 days stuck in the house were actually a blessing. We had so much uninterrupted time just to bond as a family and get used to being a family of 4 rather than 3. Many people came over and looked through the window to see her (because we may have had SARS), but on the last day we decided to go to Disneyland for our first trip as a family. Those 10 days were some of the greatest days of my life.
Thinking about that little chubby baby still brings tears to my eyes. I love her so much and am so proud of her! She is truly an amazing girl and even though we may have had an unconventional beginning to our relationship, she is and always will be my little sister and best friend.
Peace and Love,
Holly
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