The day was filled with anticipation and excitement as my step dad, little brother and I paced through the seemingly endless hospital hallways. We were all eager to see her, I almost couldn’t focus on school that day because of all the questions racing through my head. How was she was doing? What would she would look like?  What would it be like to have a little sister?

Finally we reached the nursery unit of the hospital, it was obvious it was the nursery unit from the pictures lining the hallways of happy newborns in their smiling mothers arms. Purple, light blue and pink tiles differentiated themselves from the rest of the gloomy hospital floors. My step father Eric,  found his way to the nurses desk and asked the lady if we could see my mother and the baby. The lady typed on the keyboard, found my moms name and information and helpfully guided us to her room. 

We arrived at the room and entered quietly  to ensure no disturbance was made to startle my new baby sister nor my exhausted mother. My brother and I entered behind our stepfather, we inched further into the room to find my mother awake. She had a look of exhaustion on her face as well as a peaceful happiness. Her pale face was brightened by her smile when she saw us. Our mom greeted us with a soft, “hi boys”  the fatigue was evident not only by the look on her exhausted face, but I could also hear it in her voice. My brother and I rushed to the bedside to look at the baby’s face resting on our protecting mothers chest. To my disappointment, and my mother's satisfaction, my sister was asleep. Her face was untouched by the harsh outside world she would soon be exposed to. She was so small and tiny with unique traits from each of her parents, her small nose taking in air and her small upper body expanding for her lungs to fill with air, then deflating to repeat the gentle process again. I was amazed at the sight of her.

After I was done admiring the new life brought into the world just hours before, I hugged my mom, followed by my brother, then my step dad came to give his comforting warmth to my mom. I could see how much effort it took for her to move, I could only imagine how much the birth took out of her. As we started to converse I could tell by the way she was speaking she wasn’t just physically exhausted but mentally drained too. Brayden asked, What is her name? The two adults looked at each other before saying her name together in perfect sync, Elanah. A name I adored almost as much as the beholder of the name. 

The room was quiet and no one was asking questions or speaking, and small yawn followed by a cry filled the room. I lit up with joy that I would finally be able to see her awake. We all hopped to our feet and rushed to the bedside to see Elanah finally awake. Mom rocked her in, hopes of soothing the gentle cries. It didn’t take much for Elanah to be content again. Now that the baby was awake we could finally see her eyes. Elanah’s eyes were a teal color, unique and beautiful. A mixture of my moms hazel green eyes and Eric’s blue eyes. Now that she was awake I worked up the courage to want to hold my new baby sister and asked, could I hold her? My mom replied with, Of course I’ve been waiting for you to ask. Nervous in fear that I might hurt her small delicate body, I reached for her and my mom handed the baby to Eric and then he handed her carefully over to me. Naturally my hands found the right position to hold her and I asked if it was fine, my parents smiled and nodded, admiring the care I showed with my newborn sister. I could feel Elanah’s warmth through the blanket radiate into my chest. Elanah looking around the hospital room, and I looked into her eyes. she finally locked eyes with me and a connection happened between us. It hadn’t fully hit me until that very second that I have a baby sister, a precious human to look after, a loving little girl to teach and nurture. I smiled and brought her closer to my face so I could kiss her forehead and hug her as a sign of protection and love. A sense of brotherly love filled my heart as I welcomed her into our family.