It’s a Girl!!!

     This has been a week I am sure I will never forget.  I met my half-sister for the first time.  It has been a joy getting to know her over the past three days.  She is so much like other family members, that it makes a strong case for genetics.  There is the family resemblance.  I see it more in pictures than in person, but it is there.  Her interests are similar to some of our interests.  She is loving and affectionate, as we are.  My son met her and talked nonstop until we left.  He never says two words to anyone, so that alone amazed me to no end.  He remarked to me on the way home that it was “sorta cool to find out he has another aunt”.  He also said she was REALLY  nice.  I don’t know of many people who rank more than an “okay” in his book.  She is easy to talk to, and I felt comfortable with her from the start.

I also met her best friend who is a delightful person as well.  It is like getting a “free spin” when playing a slot machine!  I was very nervous about meeting her, but things fell right into place from the start.  She is someone I am looking forward to getting to know better.  We can’t get the time back that has passed us, but we have the rest of our lives to form a new relationship based on new experiences together.  This week was the beginning of those experiences, and for me, it was positive and left me looking forward to spending more time together.  I hope she was not too overwhelmed by the experience, and will want to continue moving forward.

Sometimes things in life happen that we have no control over, yet we are drawn onto the playing field because of the “ripple effect“.  While we have no control over the circumstances that reach out and touch our lives, we do control our reaction to those events.  I choose to be positive, and let my circle widen to include this new person in my life, rather than tighten up to exclude her.  I truly believe my life is going to be enriched by her ‘ripple effect”.  You know we ALL have a “ripple effect”.  Every choice we make each day extends beyond just ourselves.  We can send out positive or negative “ripples”. Those ripples can strengthen and enlighten others, or leave nothing but devastation in their wake.   I hope that the ripples I send out to my students, friends, and family are all good ripples that make those people glad I passed their way.  I’m glad I have another sister, and I’m glad she passed my way these past few days.

Let’s all be mindful of our “ripple effects”, and think before we speak and before we act on impulse.  Are our actions going to support and strengthen others, or are they going to build walls and tear down relationships?  Choose wisely.