When I was 11 or 12 I heard for the first time that my yia yia had been married to someone before my papou. I was shocked. Rather than being a sordid, scandalous situation, however, it was actually a rather sad story: they married quite young, he was a cousin of her brother-in-law, Mike Alexander, and he died in the great influenza epidemic after only a few weeks of marriage.
Beyond the fact her name had briefly been Alexandra Alexander, what struck me about learning this news was how one event occurring before you were born can change your life.
I tried to explain the concept to Gus yesterday evening. You see, before the boys, Kelly and I were actually matched with 2 other children: a 4-year little girl, Ana, and her 3-year old brother, Amado.
Last night, as I watched Gus serve as an altar boy for 3 1/2-hours during Holy Thursday services - with three young men twice his age, I thought of Ana and Amado, and how different my life would have been had we adopted them.
On our drive home I told Gus about Ana and Amado, how they found a different family and I was happy for them. I also told him that because they aren't a part of my family, he and Niko are.
He was tired, and it's a rather esoteric topic, so I'm not really sure he comprehended its significant.
I do hope he understood my final comment: how very, very thankful and grateful I am that Ana and Amado are with another family and that he and Niko are a part of mine.
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