Hi!  It’s me!  Lily!

You’d think after the great events of Thursday that I would be happy, but I’m not, not really.  I mean, I am so happy that I was officially adopted and everything, but…  yesterday was hard.

I went over to Liz’s house, and it was awkward.  We just talked.  We talked a lot.  She told me she has no siblings and started to think of me as her sister too, like Beth does.  When Beth came along, she felt pushed to the side.

And I had no defense for that, because it was true.

But Beth is my sister now, in every sense of the word, and I told Liz that I love her just as much as Beth, but if she wants to be my best friend, we have to make room for Beth.  Liz wasn’t too happy with this, but she understood.  She thought she had one sister, but she has to deal with two now.  We’re still friends, best friends even, but I think she’s going to have to take a little time to get used to the situation now.  It makes me sad, though.  I love Liz.

I think we’ll pull through, though.  I pointed out to Liz that I think Beth is smarter than I am, and Liz looked thoughtful.  Liz is a wonderful person and I love her, but she is wicked smart – her parents are always making her go to classes to learn how to do this or that, or get extra tutoring in this or that, and she’s way more brilliant than I could ever be.  Beth might give her a run for her money, so I pointed out that they would probably get along, and Beth needs people who are more her type intellectually.  Liz didn’t seem too enthusiastic, but she accepted that it may be true, and she’s going to give Beth a chance.

And I promised her that I would never push her aside.  She seemed unsure, but she took my word for it.

I guess that’s all we can hope for.

I invited Liz back to our house for dinner, and she accepted.  Sabby was nice and made one of her favorite (non-Chinese) dishes – Beef Stroganoff.  It was a little awkward, but eventually Beth started chattering about some science experiment she’d read about, and Liz just… took off.  It was a sight to behold!  Words I’d never heard before and probably couldn’t repeat, and Beth was keeping right up!

I think it’ll be okay.

Afterwards we all watched a movie for our movie night.  Beth wanted to see “Contact”, and Liz said it was one of her favorite movies.  I loved it!  It was so…  so…  hopeful.  Baby steps, Ellie.  Baby steps.  Afterwards, Beth and I invited Liz up for our hairbrushing ritual and Liz seemed to enjoy herself.  She has no siblings and her parents aren’t very demonstrative, so I think she enjoys a little physical contact, and her hair is so thick and beautiful.  Liz went home, but not before telling Beth that she forgives her.  They hugged and I wiped tears away.  Dang onions!

It’s still a bit awkward but I think we’ll get through it.

People are hard sometimes.

Love you all!!! ❤️