My sister, Keri, is having a baby this week! Her second, and hopefully this Thursday. I’m completely excited and can’t wait to know if it’s a boy or a girl; and I no longer even know which one I’m hoping for!
But we’re missing it.
We knew this would be the first big thing we’d miss. When she announced the pregnancy last year, we already knew we’d be heading out in January and that this would be the first “big event” we’d be gone for. And we actually missed her last baby being born, because we were in Thailand in 2009. And again we’re here, and we’ll be waiting, again, for a call to tell us and see his or her (I typed “her” first and then remembered I don’t know; I suppose I’m hoping & planning on a little girl!) sweet face over Skype.
It’s hard to swallow. And it’s only the beginning.
What does it mean for us to live here? For us to actually make this our home–for however long–and miss out on the lives of people we love most?