Maggie’s first attempt at reaching Amy didn’t work. The following day, Amy called her back, but Maggie was working and was unable to stay on the line for long. Maggie told Amy that she would call her back that same evening.
Well, that night Maggie called Amy and told her the big news; she had a biological brother. Maggie forwarded my e-mail address to Amy in hopes that she could contact me the following day. Maggie provided me with a summary of Amy’s reaction to the news. She wrote, “She is very excited about you. She said she remembers her Mom mentioning you but she thought it was a crazy story she made up and never believed her. I am sure you will hear from her... I am soooo happy for you both.”
Sure enough, I received a message from my sister the very next day. I was sitting in Lambert International Airport when my phone notified me that I had a new message. This is an excerpt from Amy’s e-mail:
I’m at a slight loss for words. I cannot wait to see you, if you want to. No pressure here. And lord only knows what pictures Margaret may have showed you... And if you can handle her, then the rest of it should be a cake walk.
When I got that call from her last night, I was utterly amazed. I’ve never won the Powerball, but imagine that it doesn’t feel much different. To know for a fact that you are out there, it’s HUGE. I have a brother. You. Wow…So please, (again no pressure) it would be great to hear from you.
My response:
Well, "wow" is definitely right... All those years we were both growing up, and neither one of us really knew that the other one existed. Wow. I have a huge grin on my face as I write this sitting in the airport.
I'm so happy you were able to get a hold of me. I'm still grinning like an idiot. The folks around me at the terminal probably think I'm on drugs.
The Emotions:
It was thrilling to read Amy’s words. After 28 years I finally had contact. I was very thankful that she wanted to meet me, and it seemed that her desire was genuine. I analyzed every sentence she wrote trying to determine her true tone. I felt confident that she was very excited, but all I had to go on was her e-mail.
I was nervous to respond, though. I wanted to make sure that I answered her in a meaningful way. My tone needed to relay how excited and enthusiastic I felt. It was slightly stressful, but I managed to get through.
On top of that, I had no idea when we would be able to meet. All I wanted at that point was to see her in person. It was still very odd to me how it seemed to take very little time to get to that point. I felt odd sitting in the airport reading her e-mail because I had nobody to help me celebrate. None of those people around me had any idea that something truly amazing had happened.
The Advice:
Well, I’m not really sure on which portions of this post I can advise. If you’re communicating with a biological sibling for the first time, all that I can really suggest is to roll with the punches, again. I tried not to infer too much after reading Amy’s e-mail, but sometimes that can’t be prevented. Human beings are always trying to find the deeper meaning in everything, but occasionally there’s just isn’t any to be found.
- Andrew
