“We are no longer gonna be a family of five anymore, we’re going to be a family of six.” my mom said. In May of 2006, my parents had called us together to tell us something that would change the rest of our lives.

“We’re getting another cat?!” I exclaimed without hesitation. We had had a few other cats throughout my life, but while we were building our new house, we had to live in the country for awhile and they ran away. I loved those cats, and as a third grader, that was the only thing I could think of the minute my mom said that.

“No, you’re getting a little brother or sister,” she replied laughing.

“Yay!” Myself, and my two other siblings were overcome with excitement and so shocked and surprised at the same time.

My older sister was 12 at the time, and my younger brother was 6. When my brother was born, I was only 3 so I don’t remember as much as I do now for when my sister was born. I may have only been in third grade, but I remember this day so clearly like it was yesterday. I might not have known it at the time but that moment was about to change my life for every day after that. As soon as I got to school, I couldn’t contain my excitement and decided to tell my friends and my teacher right away. They were all just as excited as I was.

The next nine months could not have flew by any faster. They were filled with all different kinds of planning, and there were many questions to be answered. Where would she sleep? What would her name be? What hospital would she be born at? What would us kids do the day she was born?  Unfortunately, when she was old enough to have her own bed, I would be stuck sharing a room with her, but that didn’t really bother me until she was older, and started getting into all of my stuff. For her name, my mom had a lot of different ideas such as Helen Grace, or Milly, after my great-grandma. I didn’t really care for either of these names but I just went with it. My parents had also decided that when the day came, my aunt Connie, would get us ready and take us to school in the morning.
A few months later, my other siblings and I got to take a big brother/big sister class at the hospital. We took a tour of a few different rooms, learned how to change a diaper, how to swaddle a baby, and how to give a baby a bath. Everything was becoming real now. Just a few short months until I was an older sister of two.

Finally, on the morning of December 20, 2006, I was awoken by my aunt, who told me that my mom and dad were at the hospital and I was going to become a sister again today. I was so excited that day, I could hardly stay focused at school because I knew that by the time school got out, I was going to go see my baby sister at the hospital. It did not help, that Christmas was only five days away, and as a nine year old, these two events happening within five days was huge.

I had attended school at St. Wenceslaus from Kindergarten until 8th grade and she was born at Queen of Peace Hospital, so it was just right across the street. I was sitting at lunch that day around 11:00 and the moment I had been waiting for finally happened when I saw my Dad walk into the lunchroom surfeit with people.

“Your little sister, Erin Rosemary,” was born this morning.”

The same kind of excitement I was feeling when they told me I was gonna have another younger sibling, was the same type of excitement I was feeling now, times ten.

So the school day came to an end, and my Dad came to pick me and my other siblings up from school, and we walked across the street over to the hospital together. We walked into the hospital room where my my mom and Erin were and I fell in love with her so fast. She was so impeccable. I was the first to hold her and I didn’t want to give her up. She was so tiny at eight pounds even and she had that newborn smell that I love so much. Family and friends were in and out of the hospital all day and by the end of the night, I vividly remember crying when we had to leave the hospital, even though we’d be back the next day. Just a few days later, they came home from the hospital, and my siblings and myself made signs and banners and made it a huge ordeal for when they got home and we could begin the rest of our lives.

If this event had never happened in my life, I would never be the person I am today. She has made me a more responsible person because I have had to care for her. She also looks up to me because I am so much older than her. Even though she is younger than me, she is like a best friend to me, as I am to her. This will also really impact my future in many ways. One being, she is someone who will be there for the rest of my life. We will be at each other's graduations, birthdays, weddings, and other life events. Having two younger siblings has also made me realize that in my future, I am going to college to major in elementary education to put an impact on more children’s lives.