I've known Amy since we were 3 years old. We went to Kids Korner together, we went to gymnastics together, we went on vacations together, we played basketball, we cheered on the same teams.
We were inseparable. It may be true that you're stuck with friends that you grow up with, but I couldn't think of a better person I'd rather be stuck with my whole life. She's not perfect, I'm not perfect. Some years we grow closer, some years we grow apart. But I know she is always there. Amy and I could not speak for years and pick up right where we left off without missing a beat.
We've shared good moments; we've walked down the aisle at graduation together, we've watched each other walk down the aisle at our weddings and we've celebrated the birth of her son Rylan.
We've also shared the saddest of moments, and Amy has had more than her fair share of them. I've been there for her when she lost two of the most important people in her life, her mother and grandmother. Susan was my second mother and Big Mama was probably the closest thing I ever had to a real grandmother.
Amy's parents adopted her as a baby. She never knew too much about her biological parents and didn't really care to find them. But she also knew she might have an older brother. Being the only child, Amy always wanted siblings.
She began her search a couple of years ago at the adoption agency in Gainesville. I know it was a long and agonizing process for Amy but she kept trying. Obviously her biological mother didn't want to be found. Even when she was found, Amy couldn't contact her directly.
For all those years, her biological mother was only a county away living in Gainesville. She learned she did have an older brother who was a U.S. Marine and had been deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq. She spoke to her biological mother once on the phone, but was more excited about talking to her brother Chris.
They've spoke on the phone and Chris has racked up many expensive phone bills from texting back and forth from overseas. I was happy to share in another happy moment last weekend when Amy invited me and few other friends out to dinner to meet her brother.
I was nervous so I thought Amy would be a nervous wreck. But no, Amy was calm and collected and she and Chris carried on like they had known each other their whole lives. Previously, Amy thought they probably had different fathers but after closer examination, they might be full siblings.
They have the same lips and eyes. Chris said Amy has his father's characteristics that he didn't get. I observed the same sort of dry, sarcastic humor from both of them. They are both strong, opinionated people who don't apologize for it. It was incredible to see the similarities between two people who had never met.
At last Amy has found a piece of her life she felt was missing as a child, and I couldn't be happier for her. However, the plot thickens and her journey continues after discovering her biological mother placed two other baby girls up for adoption.
I'm sure Amy's head is spinning with questions of why and how a mother could keep one son and give three girls up for adoption, but she is realistic about finding the answers. She accepts that circumstances of abuse and poverty probably played a role in her mother's decisions. She isn't angry. She just wants a relationship with her brother and will continue to look for her two sisters.
She grew up in a family that loved her and provided her with everything she needed. It wasn't perfect, but neither was Chris' life growing up. And as he pointed out to me Saturday, I would have never grown up with Amy had she never been adopted.
So thank you Amy for bringing happiness into my life, and thank you Chris for bringing happiness into Amy's life.
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