Aunt Meg

Originally, I planned to blog about it. I had a post half-written, saved in my drafts, about the one-year mark of Echo's death, but a busy week and other things in my life put that on the back burner.

Yesterday marked one year to the day since I sat in an unfamiliar church in Jerome, Idaho, overcome by the terribleness of being at a funeral for a teenager, for my niece. But yesterday also marked a new chapter, one that will bring hope and goodness to my family.

My nephew, Tyson, was adopted when he was about five or six. Now a teenager, he has been reunited with his biological sister, Erica. She has spent a lot of time with my brother's family, and yesterday--a year to the day since we buried Echo--it was decided in the family court that just as soon as school lets out for the summer (to keep the transition smooth for her, academically), Erica will come to live with Aaron, Susanne, and Tyson as a foster child...and after six months, they will be able to adopt her.

I have only met her once, and it was the evening before Echo's funeral, so my impression of her in person is vague. However, in pictures, she's a smiling, happy girl, and Aaron tells us she does very well in school, and that she and Tyson get along very well--not without moments of sibling drama, of course, but when she visits, there's a lot of laughter and noise and silliness.

Welcome to the family, Erica. I can't wait to get to know you better.

Erica and Tyson