The Day I Met My Family

Sean spent last weekend in Chicago with his younger sister and even younger brother (Hi, Emily! Hi, Trevor!)  and I heard that the 3 of them had a blast. I'm so thankful they had the chance to spend the weekend together. Never have I know such a fun (and funny!) group of siblings. Being a part of their family brings me joy.

It's funny to me when I remember that fateful day in August 2000...the first time I met my new suite mate Emily. The day was full of excitement and nervous energy. I was moving to Big Orange Country to start my freshman year of college. Finally leaving home and getting my first taste of freedom....New faces, new surroundings, and I was so very intimidated by the thought of life on campus and all things college.

I started a new chapter of life that day: Moving into Adulthood. You know, that first year of college doesn't have anything to do with academics. It's really where you learn to spread your wings, start defining who you are as an adult and start carving your own path as an individual. Deciding where you want to go, who you want to be, bla bla bla...and that first day of life at UT was sooooooo much more monumental than I knew at the time.

I don't remember meeting Sean for the first time. I don't remember meeting him a second time. Or a third. It's like he just leaked into my life without me even realizing it, and all of a sudden I woke up next to him one day and he was my baby daddy! Seriously.

I do, however, remember meeting Emily for the first time. We stayed up until the wee hours of the morning (like, 5 a.m.) talking our faces off. Like, talking so much that we became hoarse. We each shared our life stories from top to bottom, and that night was the beginning of what would become a life long bond. The reason I think it's funny is because I imagine going back to that day and saying to Emily, "Hey, real fast - I'm going to marry your brother. And you're going to be an aunt to the cutest baby ever!"

I wonder what would have changed if we'd have known? Would I have been nicer to her that year? :)

Ah, but there was no way to know...and that's what makes it so magical. There was no way that I could've looked at her brother while he was setting up her computer and said, "Hi, nice to meet you. I'm your future wife." Boy, that would've been the end of that.

Thankfully it wasn't the end of anything. It was only the beginning. Here we are 13 years later and I somehow ended up with the best family ever.