Did you ever have anyone that seemed like a member of your family, even though they weren't officially? 

When I was eight years old one of my brothers went off to college.  There, he met a young man from Guatamala and became friends with him.  This man, Jose, was the son of a tailor and this college was well-known for their operatic productions, so he worked as a designer for these productions to help pay his way through college.  However, he needed summer jobs, plus he could not afford to go home on vacations.  So for four years he came to our house for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Spring Break and the summer months (working at the auto parts store my dad owned). 

I have such terrific memories of Jose putting together a Barbie doll house for me, teaching me how to do origami, playing in the snow during the first snowfall he had ever seen, etc.!  Eventually, his sister lived with us for six months in order to learn English so that she could go to college in the U.S., too.

Jose got a good job after college, married and had two children and moved his parents to the U.S.  But he lives a long ways from me.  We keep in touch, but don't get to see each other much. 

The last time I saw him was 27 years ago when he happened to be passing through the city I live in.  The same thing happened yesterday, when again he was "passing by!"  I got to spend about three wonderful hours with him and his wife, and it was as if we picked right up from where we had left off years ago--it was so easy to talk with him!  He is retired now and has white hair, but otherwise seems like the same person I met when I was a child.  When we hugged, I didn't want to let go of him!

I'm grateful to my parents for opening up their home to people who needed a place to stay through the years.  In this case, I not only got to learn a lot about another culture, but I also gained an extra "brother!"

I sure hope I don't have to wait another 27 years to see Jose again!!