It was the first time in almost 25 years that I heard her voice on the other end of the telephone. I had finally found my sister! It took over a year of searching on my own, but I finally found her!
My sister and I were not close growing up, we had the same father but did not grow up in the same home. She came to visit, and I remember how much I always loved seeing her. There was something there between us that bonded us, and I always held her very close to my heart.
So on the Saturday before Thanksgiving in 1997, I had found her living in Hollywood, Fla. I called her house. She wasn't there, but my nephew who was just a toddler last time I saw him was. I told him who I was and he was so excited, he said he would call his mom and she would probably call me back the next day. It was 9 at night here and midnight in Florida.
The phone rang here at 6:30. She was so excited to hear that I called she left the movie where she was to come home and call me. She told me that she had already made plans to go to Vegas for Christmas and wanted to come see us on Christmas. I laughed and told her that Vegas was quite a ways from here, but she said she didn't care and would arrange everything.
Well, Christmas morning there I was at the airport with my husband and my oldest brother waiting for her to come off the plane. Even though we had not seen each other in so long, I recognized her immediately! She looked just like our father's sister! I was frozen at first, but it didn't take long and we were hugging and talking like we just saw each other the other day! Christmas of 1997 was the best one I had had in so many years! The most memorable except that time when I got a bike when I was 10.
I was sad when she went home, but content in the fact that we would see each other again and a lot sooner than 25 years! We talked on the phone a few times a year and sent cards and pictures to each other.
Well, Christmas is almost here, but this year will probably be one of the saddest since our father passed away in 1982; because this year, the day before the 17th anniversary of our father's passing, my sister passed away. I am thankful for the Christmas day we had together and will never forget it. So the sentiment has set in but it is a sentiment unlike I have felt in a long time. I just hope that if you have a long lost person in your life and miss them like I missed her, that you find them, make contact and make a memory for yourself that will last you a lifetime.
Barbara Friesen is a resident of Carson City.
