Only five months have past since I lost my sister. No, she didn’t die, and she wasn’t my biological sister, but she was sure my best friend and made the summer of 2018 the best summer yet.

It was definitely a spurt of the moment decision to host a french exchange student. Never in a million years would I have thought that my mom who despises change would suggest it. I didn’t think that my dad would be comfortable with it either. But when my mom popped the question, my body began to rapidly fill with buckets of excitement.

The next month before she came was extremely tough for me to contain my gittery self. I went around telling everyone I knew about this adventure that I was soon to partake in. I decorated her room, bought her gifts, made her signs for when we picked her up from the airport, I even learned a little french! I could not wait until I could finally say, “bon jour” to her in person.

After countless weeks of anticipation, June 3 finally arrived! This was the day that my life would change. I would finally have a sister who I could stay up late and watch movies with, bake lots of cookies with, go shopping with, and just have fun with. I remember the drive to the airport so vividly. The car was mostly silent as the nerves were kicking in. The walk inside the building for baggage claim was just as awkward. Nobody was talking, we were just soaking in the last few minutes as a family of four. As soon as we saw her come down the escalator, the tense atmosphere was immediately shattered. I ran up to hug her and ask her how her flight was. We helped her carry her bags to the car, and then we were headed home. She was instantly family.

Throughout her three month long stay, we did everything together. We became so close that we could tell each other anything. I learned alot about the french culture and how they have parties every weekend, drive really tiny cars before they are allowed to drive bigger ones, and love soccer! Our french exchange student was here during the world cup so we watched every french match no matter what time it was. One time we got up at 4:00 am to watch France play! She was extremely into soccer and the longer she stayed with us, the further france would advance. They finally made it to the finals against Croatia and we were not about to miss that game! We painted our faces with the french flag, wore french soccer jerseys, and baked a traditional french dish in hopes that they would pull out a win. After the game, our house was filled with pride and joy as France had just won. I guess a lot of her french pride had rubbed onto us.

In the last few days of her stay, we really tried to make the most of it. The two of us would go to cool places around town to talk, stay up until 2:00 in the morning laughing our heads off, and lay by the pool and relax. The closer it got to her departure date, the harder it was to admit the fact that she had to leave.

On August 15, we packed up her things in the car and drove her to the airport. Again the car was tense, but not in the way it was before. This time, we were too sad to talk. As we walked into the airport and sent her off into security, I couldn’t help but run up to her and hug her for what seemed like an eternity. I had realized that there was a possibility that I may never see my sister again. As she got further and further through the security line, I began to cry. My sister was leaving. But this was an experience that I will never ever forget.