Unbreakable Siblings

Having been born into an extremely poor family, let alone in a third world country, my brother and I were then forced to face the rest of life as adoptee's. The two of us were adopted into separate families and in completely opposite locations; I grew up in the United States and my brother, in the Bahamas.

During those times, adoption differed in the ways of today's. One way being, that open adoption was not an option, especially when pertaining to involvement with other countries; also of which was more usual than intercountry.

In addition to the adoption being closed instead of open, creating a confidential process until both of legal age, this causing hidden truth of neither being aware of the other's existence. Obviously, leaving the same scenario for our adoptive families. As for the rest of our (biological) family, they have remained in our beautiful home country, Paraguay. Nevertheless, in 2012 I was blessed with the opportunity to meet my (our) biological family. Not only did this happen, but it was also the first time being informed about my brother as well.

Luckily enough, since then, we have been able to keep in contact through social media, but not so lucky as to meet in person. However, all of that changed when the devastating Hurricane Dorian took control of the Bahamas, September 2019. I will never forget those couple of weeks; a gut-wrenched and heartbroken feeling. As each day passed, I waited anxiously to get some sort of confirmation of my brothers safety and the damage caused. All I could do was sit, wait, and pray. To make matters worse and more chaotic, I knew my brother was not alone at the time; he was engaged and has two little boys. So of course, I was concerned for my future sister-in-law and my little nephews as well.

Finally, the day arrived when I heard from them! Although, it was not from my brother, my soon to be sister-in-law was able to contact me the very second they got hold of a phone, while also needing signal. However, she was not able to call and could only reach out by message on social media.

After Hurricane Dorian, the saying "Life is short" hit me extremely hard and gave me a deeper understanding behind it. You honestly never know when - or even if - second chances will happen. My brother and I communicated for eight years straight! We talked about how we wanted to meet in person, bringing my nephews here for a visit, seeing snow, and just feeling excited for the day to come. Sadly it never did. That's when I pushed even harder than ever before, to make sure it would. Having found each other was way too serious and important of a bond to not take seriously!

With that said, and without any hesitations, doubts, or worries, I bought a plane ticket the next day and flew to the Bahamas. The best part though, was it was a surprise and going to be over the holidays!! His fiancé helped me plan the trip, coordinate the dates he would have off work, and book the flight. It was the most spontaneous, adventurous, and memorable trip made (tied with meeting our family in 2012, of course). Their generosity, hospitality, tourism, and unforgettable memories are carried in my heart every day.

What I want people to really realize, is that sometimes bad days can happen and it is natural. But in truth, it may not be as bad as it could be for others and might even be left with more than what others already do not have. Sometimes life will teach you that the difficult moments can actually have the simplest solutions, and that if you really want something to happen, if you want it bad enough, then make sure it does. Never take life, happiness, love, or the one's whom mean the most, for granite. Cherish your loved one's, the one's who make you smile, the one's who make you laugh, the one's who are there through it all even if not from the beginning. Time does not define the relationship, it is the relationship that defines the time.