At 27 years old, finding a brother has been both exciting and a little scary at first... I'm already a 'grown up', with opinions and likes/dislikes fully formed, who now has someone else out there with similar traits, that has my same DNA coursing through his body!

After four months of talking and emailing from Seattle to Togo, West Africa where he is a Peace-Corps Volunteer, we finally met in person a week ago. It was AMAZING. Like looking in a mirror but better, because there was a three-dimensional, living, breathing person standing in front of me, with my eyes and nose and smile and posture and hands, and big toe... the list goes on and on. (more than one stranger has asked if we are twins!)

We've spent a week together now, meeting each other's friends and family, and have to remind ourselves every once in a while that we're not just good friends, but SIBLINGS. We'll all of a sudden catch ourselves staring at each other in disbelief, then laugh, then go bowling or on a walk and become just good friends again. It's quite the roller coaster of emotions, sudden tweaks of realization that this person is my sibling (always has been and always will be), and a sudden feeling of comfort having him there...

I can't fully put into words what having a brother out there means to me. I'm just so thrilled and anxious for the wonderful times we'll have together now, the wonderful family gatherings that have now grown with the inclusion of each other's families and friends, who somehow all seem to already get along so well!

Thank you Wendy, for making this possible. I'm not an only child anymore. I'm a big sister!