Dear Snuggle Bug,
Well didn’t you have the experience of a lifetime this week! You are officially a big sister!
You were scheduled for summer time at my house this past week, but Mommy messaged me on Tuesday afternoon to tell me that she was going to the hospital with Chris because she was in labor.
You were at your first summer riding camp and I had already told Mommy that I wanted to make sure you were able to experience the joy of becoming a big sister as soon as your new sister was born.
Grandpa picked you up from riding camp and you went to see Charlotte (I’m assuming that’s how Mommy spelled it) that same evening.
I am so excited for you to be a big sister. You sort of were Eva’s big sister when I lived with Lauren, but Eva was only a little bit younger than you so it’s not exactly the same as having a real baby sister be born and getting to see her when she’s teeny tiny.
I was five the night my brother was born and I still remember it and I remember going to the hospital to see him. That was 35 years ago and I still remember going!
On a less exciting note, it saddens me that I will probably never know your sister very well. At least while she’s a juvenile. I doubt mommy will ever let her come to my house with you and that makes me sad. I want to raise you on the lake with a boat and water and all the games and fun that comes along with that and I would love for you to be able to share those fun time with your sister. I think it would be a lot of fun and even though Charlotte is not my child, she’s still family because she’s your sister even if she’s not my daughter. I just know that as hard as I had to fight to keep access to you, there’s no way your mom will let your sister come here with you. Maybe when you’re a lot older and can speak up for yourself about it if you want to spend time with her. I dunno. It’s just sad to me that it’s even an issue.
Speaking of family dynamics. You expressed some confusion about how it was weird that you and Charlotte have different dads. That is totally normal, but when I tried to explain it, I think I made it worse! Here’s the story:
You told me that you were confused about having a different dad from Charlotte. Basically you said that it was weird that she’s part of your family, but not really part of my family. I totally understand the confusion. Something you didn’t know is that Uncle Jason and I have different biological father’s as well. But things didn’t go as plan when I tried to tell you that.
By now, you no doubt know that when siblings have one same parent and one different parent, it’s called being a half-sibling. So, to make you feel better about your confusion I shared with you that Uncle Jason and I were half-brothers.
No sooner did the phrase “half-brother” escape my lips than you burst into tears exclaiming, “You mean she’s not even my real sister!”
Oops.
I of course assured you that you were still very much her real sister but you were obviously distraught about it for a few minutes. Eventually you changed the subject and we moved on, but I can only imagine what you said to your mom when you went home.
Anyway, I don’t plan on having any more children, so it’s unlikely that you will have another sibling from me, so I’m excited that you get to have one with Mommy and Chris.
I love you to the moon and back!
Love,
Daddy
P.S. What do you call sleeping siblings? Napkin.
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