Through no fault of hers or mine, I lost my very first best friend of three and a half years at the early age of three and a
half—yes, she had already been my best friend my entire life. She was three years older than I. We had lived together, eaten together, shared a bedroom, played together, and I am sure we must have fought together at some point throughout the entire three and a half years I had known her—she was my sister. My older siblings and I had been removed from our biological home and placed in foster homes. My sister and I were lucky enough to be placed in the same foster home and, I believe to this day, that gave us a stronger bond of friendship and sisterhood than most other siblings ever have. However, life dictated that in December 1965, our close comradery would cease. She remembers coming home from school one day and finding me gone. I wasn’t gone on a short venture to return in a few hours—I was gone forever—I had been adopted by another family. She remembers “Save the Last Dance for Me” playing on the radio. She remembers trying to understand and cope with a separation that we were promised would never happen. Shortly after I was adopted, our foster parents adopted her.
I remember asking about her over the years and my parents telling me that they were certain she was just fine and had been adopted as well. They truly believed we were only foster sisters—they were never told I had a biological sister in foster care at the same time and place they were visiting me.
The years passed and in the year I turned 20, I decided to try and contact the court to see if I could find this long-lost very first best friend. It took some time to get a response from the court, and it was not what I wanted to hear--exactly. The court confirmed that I had a sister, but that I also had several biological siblings! It was not what I wanted to hear exactly because they could not give me information on my sister as there was no release on file signed by her. However, through other contact information the court was allowed to provide, I was able to get in touch with my sister after just a few days.
We talked via phone a few times then decided to meet. When I stepped off the airplane and saw her standing there, it was almost like looking into a full length mirror. I think her coat may have been a different shade of purple than mine, but other than that, we may as well have been twins. I will never ever forget that moment. Since then, we have been in constant contact. We now live less than an hour away from each other and even work at the same place. The ending to this story is bittersweet. Although we live and work close together and still get together, we no longer have the connection we had as children, and I miss that very much. I feel like a part of my soul was taken away when we were separated.
I have written this for all the other sisters out there who have had the opportunity to grow up together, to be together through the laughter, the tears, the loving and the fighting. Please don’t take it all for granted—the bond of love between two sisters should be so strong that it can never be broken. I love my sister with all my heart and maybe someday she and I will have a connection like we once had and be best friends again—who knows, maybe we will end up in a nursing home together! If we do, I certainly hope she saves the last dance for me!
half—yes, she had already been my best friend my entire life. She was three years older than I. We had lived together, eaten together, shared a bedroom, played together, and I am sure we must have fought together at some point throughout the entire three and a half years I had known her—she was my sister. My older siblings and I had been removed from our biological home and placed in foster homes. My sister and I were lucky enough to be placed in the same foster home and, I believe to this day, that gave us a stronger bond of friendship and sisterhood than most other siblings ever have. However, life dictated that in December 1965, our close comradery would cease. She remembers coming home from school one day and finding me gone. I wasn’t gone on a short venture to return in a few hours—I was gone forever—I had been adopted by another family. She remembers “Save the Last Dance for Me” playing on the radio. She remembers trying to understand and cope with a separation that we were promised would never happen. Shortly after I was adopted, our foster parents adopted her.
I remember asking about her over the years and my parents telling me that they were certain she was just fine and had been adopted as well. They truly believed we were only foster sisters—they were never told I had a biological sister in foster care at the same time and place they were visiting me.
The years passed and in the year I turned 20, I decided to try and contact the court to see if I could find this long-lost very first best friend. It took some time to get a response from the court, and it was not what I wanted to hear--exactly. The court confirmed that I had a sister, but that I also had several biological siblings! It was not what I wanted to hear exactly because they could not give me information on my sister as there was no release on file signed by her. However, through other contact information the court was allowed to provide, I was able to get in touch with my sister after just a few days.
We talked via phone a few times then decided to meet. When I stepped off the airplane and saw her standing there, it was almost like looking into a full length mirror. I think her coat may have been a different shade of purple than mine, but other than that, we may as well have been twins. I will never ever forget that moment. Since then, we have been in constant contact. We now live less than an hour away from each other and even work at the same place. The ending to this story is bittersweet. Although we live and work close together and still get together, we no longer have the connection we had as children, and I miss that very much. I feel like a part of my soul was taken away when we were separated.
I have written this for all the other sisters out there who have had the opportunity to grow up together, to be together through the laughter, the tears, the loving and the fighting. Please don’t take it all for granted—the bond of love between two sisters should be so strong that it can never be broken. I love my sister with all my heart and maybe someday she and I will have a connection like we once had and be best friends again—who knows, maybe we will end up in a nursing home together! If we do, I certainly hope she saves the last dance for me!
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