“Mommy,” Zoe said to me one day when we were grocery shopping, “Does the hermanita have teeth?” She looked at me with very serious eyes as I explained that indeed, she did. “Oh, OK,” she replied.
A couple of weeks before, she had told me that she would help me change the diapers of the hermanita, and give her a bottle. I reminded her that her little sister wouldn’t be a baby, like other little sisters, but that she would be around 3 years old.
“Three, like this,” she repeated, showing three small fingers.
“Yes, amor, like your friend Luca,” I confirmed.
When we were approved for adoption by the US State Department in October of 2012, we told Zoe that sometime next year she would have a little sister, and that we would all travel to Ecuador to meet her and bring her home.
I wanted to prepare Zoe for this important change, but on the other hand we didn’t know when we would travel, and I didn’t want her to become anxious, so I chose not to talk about it every day, until we had more certainty.
However, the topic was on her mind.
“Mommy, when we take a bath together, the hermanita is going to sit here, and I’m going to sit here,” she declared one day, claiming her spot of privilege next to the faucet.
“OK, maybe you can take turns,” I suggested.
“No, mommy, the hermanita can hurt herself if she sits here.”
I’m still trying to figure out how a 3-year old can be at risk by sitting next to the faucet. One thing is for sure: Zoe has learned that we take safety very seriously in this household, and any argument is valid to keep the prime real estate in the tub.
Having a sister is not new to Zoe. Her sister Julia, the daughter of my husband’s previous marriage, is 10 years older than Zoe and they have always been close. During the first 3 years of Zoe’s life, Julia lived with her mother and she spent 50% of her time with us, and last year she moved in with us, so she has always been very present in Zoe’s life. They love each other and as many siblings, they also fight a lot. Zoe enjoys having sleepovers with Julia and watching her at cheerleading practice, although they don’t share the same games and activities.
One day I decided to find out if Zoe understood how our new family would be formed.
“Zoe, who is going to be the dad of the hermanita?” I asked her one day.
“Papa,” she responded quickly.
“Yes! And who’s going to be the mom?”
She stared at me, as if I had asked the most bizarre question in the world.
“Me,” I said
“You?!”
She looked at me in shock.
I then realized that Jean-Marc is also Julia’s dad, but I’m not Julia’s mom. Perhaps Zoe was thinking that the little sister would come with a mother incorporated. She clearly didn’t expect it to be me.
The next time she mentioned the hermanita, I asked her again:
“Zoe, who’s going to be the mommy of the hermanita?”
“You… and me,” she said with a smile.
“No, I’m going to be the mom”
“I also want to be the mom!”
“You’re going to be the big sister,” I said.
“But mommy, Julia is the big sister.”
“You’re both going to be big sisters! It’s so much fun being a big sister!”
“Oh… OK”
She clearly wasn’t convinced.
I have amazing memories with my sisters. Like Zoe, I also have a sister who is 10 years older than me, and who only spent vacations with us when we were children, and a sister who is a bit younger than me. Growing up, I was very close to my young sister Cecilia, because of our age proximity. We shared a room until we were teenagers and would stay up late talking about everything and nothing until our mom heard us laughing and told us to go to sleep. Even when we each got our own bedroom we sometimes did sleepovers. When I was in college and I lived in Argentina, I studied near Washington, DC for a semester, close to my older sister Marcella’s house. I spent every weekend with her, talking about school and the boy I liked, eating out and playing with her children. I can’t imagine a life without siblings.
It makes me happy to know that Julia and Zoe will have a younger sister, and that our little one will have a sister almost her age and a big sister to look up to. I’m sure there will be jealousies and adjustments, and it might not be easy but then again, what is?
Every evening before going to bed Zoe and I pray. She gives thanks for her friends, Horsie, mommy and daddy, and practically everything that’s in sight, including books, toys, furniture and the window. Her closing line is always the same. “Please God let it be a beautiful day tomorrow and that the hermanita is happy and comes soon from Ecuador.”
“Amen,” we say together, and I kiss her goodnight.
Can’t wait to meet “hermanita” too!!! Divina la foto de Julia y Zoe !! Lindaaaaaas!!!
Gracias Hola Carola!
Hermanita is going to be so blessed to enter a beautiful family like yours Guada!…can’t wait to meet her and see Zoe’s face… and hear all the new stories with Hermanita…is going to be so much fun for you too Guada 😉
Thanks Maria! Another little friend for Elisa 🙂
Guadi! I loved reading your blog! I didn’t know Julia moved in with you guys. How cool!!!!!!! OMG the girls are both so big! I cannot wait for the next blog. Lots of love to the four of you and of course the hermanita………………
It was really hard for us to explain to our daughter that we would not be getting a little baby like all her friends seemed to get. And she was eight at the time!
Let’s see how it plays out. I hope Zoe’s not eight by the time we hear back from the agency 🙂 !!!
Guada – I’m so enjoying reading your blogs! It’s a beautiful story about a beautiful family. I can’t wait to read the next installment. Abrazos –
I got to sleep with warm feelings looking at the beautiful picture and story.
Thanks again my friend for sharing!
Guada, que hermosooo todo lo que escribis!!! No dejes de hacerlo y de mantenernos al tanto de las BIG & HAPPY NEWS que seguramente vendran muyyy pronto. Love reading your GREAT life story. A huge kiss for you & your beautiful family. Keep in touch.
Gracias Majito! Vos tambien vas a tener muchas aventuras para escribir con las mellis! Un abrazo, Guada
Thank you so much for letting me witness the writing of a new chapter in your family book. I have a personal experience with international adoption but it is different than yours. I sat on the Board of a Non-Profit for 3 years and we brought children from the former Soviet Union countries to US for adoption via Summer Miracles program. Children would stay with a host family for a month in hopes of being adopted. These were older children (6-14), unwanted by most. I fell in love with every one of them. I would love to give a loving home to a child one day as well. Bless your heart for willing to share your heart and home. Big hugs!
Guadi, otro blog increíble! Ecuadora (“hermanita”) va a llegar pronto, lo se, lo siento y tengo fé de que Dios la traerá en el momento perfecto. Ya la adoramos todos los Mayol! Y gracias por ser LA MEJOR HERMANA QUE PODRIA HABER SOÑADO!
I love these conversations, makes us think differently when we hear it from a kid’s perspective!