Just to ease our minds, I went by the vet Friday afternoon to check on Filo. He was just fine, even jumping around. We were still nervous, because Thor was supposedly just fine the afternoon before we were to pick him up, too. We didn't go up there, though, because we both were at work.

Anyway, Jeff picked him up Saturday morning. He was wide open all day, according to Jeff. He must have been bored stuck in a cage at the vet's. We are relieved to have him home. He has to go back in 10 days to get his stitches removed. He doesn't seem to be bothered by them, though he sat down a little gingerly at first. And luckily no Elizabethan collar is necessary.

Lunch on Saturday went well. I got to the restaurant a few minutes early. I wasn't really nervous until right before she got there. When she arrived, she gave me a hug and told me I looked the same as I did as a child. UM, ok. I guess I do. My hair is even the same color. I know this because she gave me my baby book that my mother had made for me, and a lock of my hair is in it (from my first haircut).

The deal is this - she has not seen Danielle (my half-sister) in a year. Her ex-husband (who Danielle lives with maybe two miles from me) and his family are wealthy. They are spoiling Danielle, beyond the spoilage of my niece. She had a cell phone at eleven. My niece is about to turn 13, and will never have a cell phone as long as she's under my Dad's roof. He hates them. Anyway, the father and his family had subtly made it a punishment to go see her mom. As in, "Well, that's the weekend you're supposed to go see your mom. So I guess you'll have to miss {{blank}}." They've spoken on the phone in the past year, but Danielle usually has an attitude. This is when her father is in earshot. When he's not home, Debbie says she's different - not hateful.

Aside from all this, Debbie wants to tell Danielle that she's adopted soon. Because our mother is dead, she can never meet her. But she can meet me. I asked if she thought Danielle would want to meet me. She said she thought she would. I told her to initiate it only if Danielle asks to meet me. I also plan to give her some recent pictures of me to show her, since she only has baby pictures.

I think that Debbie thinks I can be a guiding factor, or a mentor of sorts. I told her of some incidents with my niece (her bragging about her name brand clothes, and being bigotted) and my reaction to them. She said something like "Danielle could learn a lot from you" or "She needs you right now." She thinks Danielle is being set up for a lot of disappointments by always expecting everything she wants to be handed to her. She says that is her father's way of showing his affection. I'm not sure how all this will turn out, or what my role (if any) will be.

Debbie brought my baby book, some pictures of Danielle, and some pictures of my mother I had never seen. There was a picture of my mother holding me in the hospital that I'd never seen. She even framed a picture of me at about 5, a picture of my mother, and a picture of Danielle at 5 or 6. She looks a lot like my mother. I think I have some of her traits, like thick hair, good nails, long and slender fingers, petite build. However I think I look more like my Dad and his family. People have even told me and my brother Scott that we look alike, I guess meaning facial features and structure. I don't know. Maybe I'll post some pics here to see what you guys think. I'm not good at this kind of thing.