I just realized, after almost a year of blogging, that I haven’t introduced my brother, Christopher. He is at least half responsible for my francophilia…because, well…he IS French! To make a long story short, my father met his first wife while stationed in France and had my brother. Technically speaking, we are “half” siblings, but don’t think of each other that way. We have a 13 year age difference – when I was little he would send me care packages, which fed my love of all things French. I cried when I heard his voice for the first time in 2000, and when we finally met in 2002 I REALLY cried. 

There is something inexplicable about looking into someone else’s eyes and seeing your own. I know those who have siblings understand, but imagine seeing them for the first time when you are 22. We look so much alike-it’s like there were no mothers involved at all! We have built a strong bond over the years, and for my wedding in 2009 we pulled off the biggest surprise for our father…he had no idea he was coming, and it was the first time we were all together. I met his lovely partner Isabelle and got to know my beautiful niece Elisabeth even better. As of TODAY, I am a “tante” again to a baby boy, Eliott! I hope to meet him soon, but for now, I’m sending him a lot of love from the states.