Two Truths and a Lie: Revealed

I need a break from the stress of being an infertile psychologist with a crazy cat. Plus, I'm impatient. So without further delay, here's the answers to this post:

1. I spent three years of my childhood living in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Unfortunately, this is not true. I only wish it were. The truth is that I spent two weeks in Russia after studying the language and culture throughout high school. I loved it and briefly considered changing my career choices so that I could have a summer home in Russia and visit it yearly. Also, my mother is Czech and we practice Russian Orthodox as our religion so I do feel very connected to this culture.

2. I used to work as a janitor at my old high school.

For three summers, this was true. I was the one who scraped off the gum from under the chairs and desks that you all put there throughout the year! I actually loved this job. I also worked at an ice cream store for about ten years before moving on to more psychologically-minded professional activities.

3. I have a half sister that is 15 years younger than me, despite the fact that my parents have been happily married for nearly 40 years.

How is this possible, you ask? One day, while in high school, my mom came home from work, sat us all down, and asked us what we would think if she chose to have a baby for another family. She knew of a colleague at work who could not have children of their own (due to female factors that I was not completely knowledgable of) and she wanted to offer to be a surrogate. She provided the eggs and uterus, he provided the sperm, and I have a sort-of-half-sister. My mom was in her early 40s at the time. Yes, she was that fertile, that she had another baby after her own family was complete. Little did she/we know that her own daughters would not be so lucky.

We used to visit with the other family yearly, around her birthday, but lately it has been less frequent. Their family now consists of three girls; my half-sister and then two other girls from a second surrogate. In high school, I just thought it was a cool party trick ("my mom is having another man's baby and she's still married to my dad!") and really didn't think too much about it. Only now can I fully appreciate the magnitude of this gift.