More Important People

DAY 11: Talk About My Siblings

Which siblings? My family has been fluid, always changing, adding people, letting people go. It’s hard to experience change like that, but I would never change the makeup of my family, and, in fact, I hope we never lose that fluidity. There have been siblings that have gone in and out of my life. I still consider those people part of my family, even the ones who are currently out of my life.

First there was me.

Then there was my sister AA. We used to do everything together. I don’t know what kind of person I’d be without her. Even though we live far apart we still talk a lot and I still rely on her to help me with lots of things, such as what to cook. She’s my busy sister. She works hard. She loved being a teacher as much as I did, and she continues to teach in an unconventional setting. I’m so proud of her for that. 

Addi. She was enough younger than me that I was often either bossy or mean to her as a kid. She says she’s not angry about that. She’s all grown up now and has evolved into the most talented seamstress in our family. No really. She can sew anything. Even a ceiling for your car. Even a fancy shirt for your husband. And now she’s on an adventure in South America. 

Nik.  My baby brother. Who is now a bone fide adult with an adult job and adult conversations. He knows how to work hard and help people and be kind. He knows how to tell the best funniest stories. 

D. He’s not really my brother, but he lived with my family for a couple years and was a super good big brother to me. He taught me things, brainwashed me into believing Chevrolet made a good truck, told me off when I acted bratty, listened to me complain about Canada when my family moved back here, gave me advice, and so much more. 

Big Nik. Same as D, he lived with my family for a few years in Africa. He played with us little kids, spent time pushing us on the swing, was an expert at being silly with us. He also taught me things. I know I always listened intently when it was his turn to tell Bible stories on our weekly trips to “Big Samaritains” group home; he had a way of telling stories that was different from everyone else’s, and made me imagine these classic stories in new ways. 

Lil. She was just over a year when she came to our house. She has the brightest eyes and a picture perfect smile. She was mischievous and silly and super active and athletic. She was very tiny when she learned to drive bike, but she was determined not to be left behind by us big kids. We could take her on long bike rides and she’d be able to keep up. Her energy was boundless. 

Cissy. She is Lil’s sis. She was only a month old when I first met her. The first moment I saw her is deeply etched on my mind. I peeked into her car seat and was met by her dark grey eyes peering up from her delicate porcelain face. She wasn’t my bio sister, but people always talked about how much she matched the rest of our family; her dark hair and blue-grey eyes were just like mine. 

It was the saddest day for our family when Lil and Cissy went back to live with their bio mum and dad. We knew this was what was best for them; their parents, especially their dad, had worked tirelessly to get them back, and the strain of having their time split between our house and their parents’ was starting to be too much for them. It’s been years since I’ve seen these sisters, but the hole they left on my heart is still there. 

Sapphy. She’s my craziest sister. Maybe also my saddest. She’s had too many bad things happen to her. But she’s had a lot of happy things too. When she was little, I spent hours and hours playing with her and taking care of her. Last time I talked to her, she was obsessed with skateboarding. She has gorgeous sparkly eyes, a wild imagination and came up with all sorts of schemes to execute. Nik and Sapphy used to argue endlessly; both of them were too stubborn to back down. She has always been super proud and in touch with her First Nation heritage. I love that. She also  always has had an interest in the outdoors, loved to look at sunsets with me, and sometimes said accidentally wise words about nature. 

Roses. She was the tiniest baby with the blackest hair. She loved to be Carried around and snuggled and hugged, and she hated loud noises, which her big sis Sapphy caught on to really quickly. She did eventually figure out how to fight back when Sapphy did things to bug her. As she grew, her personality stayed the same: she’s shy, but she has an easy smile, and hugs and kisses and family (me, us) have always been important to her.

I haven’t seen S or R for 3.5 years, but every day I hope to see them again. They are just as much my sisters as they were 3 years ago. 

Phia. She’s the wordiest of all of us; She’s only 7, but her vocabulary rivals mine, and she loves to talk. She’s also a creator, an avid crafter, and a very talented artist. She’s full of ideas. She has a way making each of us feel how important we are to her without knowing how to say that. Maybe it would be simplest to say that she’s the most exuberant/ outgoing person in our family. Even though she shuffles between her bio family and our family, she seems to be pretty happy with her life, only complaining sometimes becos Raccoon (BTT) and I live too far away from the rest of the fam.

Keekee. He’s the most recent child to join my family. Although he, like Phia, doesn’t spend all his time with my parents, they are most consistently his caregivers. He’s tiny, he’s cray cray. He’s almost 3 and says the cutest things. He’s obsessed with vehicles and tractors and skid steers. He has the best shoulder length dark curls of anyone I’ve ever met. He had a super difficult beginning to his life after being born a couple months premature, but despite that he is thriving and growing and nearly on track for his age; the stubbornness that exhausts his caregivers has been good for something!

I haven’t done all these amazing people justice. ❤️❤️❤️