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erdos0
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My sister's sister?
Sat Aug 20, 2011 12:53:19 am


When I was young, my mother often repeated a story about how she realized that my sister had been switched after birth and she insisted that the nurses had made a mistake until they gave her the correct child. I originally believed my mother's side of the story, but my thoughts on this changed as I got older. I came to realize that my mother easily develops irrational beliefs and is extremely argumentative/persuasive when people disagree. Almost always, whoever disagrees with her will eventually admit that she is right just to make her shut up. I wondered if my sister was really my biological sister. We often talked about getting a DNA test to verify this, but we never did it.

During tonight's train ride, I sat across from a woman who looked almost exactly as my sister did 15 years ago. At some angles, she was indistinguishable. I tried to think of something to say to her, but I just couldn't. I expected her to just think that I was some old guy trying to hit on her. I left the train without verifying if she was my sister's sister.
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1) fanny,
Sat Aug 20, 2011 1:03:14 am

If she's your sister's sister, wouldn't she be your sister too?
2) erdos0,
Sat Aug 20, 2011 1:04:42 am

re: comment#1
If she's your sister's sister, wouldn't she be your sister too?
Only if she is my biological sister's sister. The woman who I have regarded as my sister all my life might actually not be biologically related to me.
3) binauralbeat,
Sat Aug 20, 2011 1:08:00 am

wow. That had to be unsettling and exciting at the same time. (Or that is how I think I would feel if I had the experience.) I don't think I could have thought of anything to say either.
4) Amortentia,
Sat Aug 20, 2011 1:08:23 am

agrees with: comment#2
Only if she is my biological sister's sister. The woman who I have regarded as my sister all my life might actually not be biologically related to me.
5) Amortentia,
Sat Aug 20, 2011 1:08:30 am

agrees with: comment#3
wow. That had to be unsettling and exciting at the same time. (Or that is how I think I would feel if I had the experience.) I don't think I could have thought of anything to say either.
6) fanny,
Sat Aug 20, 2011 1:08:31 am

re: comment#2
Only if she is my biological sister's sister. The woman who I have regarded as my sister all my life might actually not be biologically related to me.
would it make a difference to you? would you stop considering her your sister?
7) erdos0,
Sat Aug 20, 2011 1:11:00 am

re: comment#6
would it make a difference to you? would you stop considering her your sister?
I don't think that it would change anything.
8) ren,
Sat Aug 20, 2011 1:11:35 am

where were you born?
9) erdos0,
Sat Aug 20, 2011 1:13:10 am

re: comment#8
where were you born?
New York City.
10) ren,
Sat Aug 20, 2011 1:14:07 am

re: comment#9
New York City.
and they just "switched" babies in the hospital? I do not understand this.
11) erdos0,
Sat Aug 20, 2011 1:16:34 am

There was a very odd coincidence when my sister was born. On the same day, another girl was born at the same hospital and that girl was given the exact same Chinese name. The romanization of her name differed by one letter. My mother knew about this and probably convinced herself that a switch had happened because of this.
12) erdos0,
Sat Aug 20, 2011 1:17:01 am

re: comment#10
and they just "switched" babies in the hospital? I do not understand this.
See comment #11.
13) erdos0,
Sat Aug 20, 2011 1:17:50 am

re: comment#8
where were you born?
Where I was born is irrelevant. Where my sister was born is relevant, but that happens to be the same place.
14) fanny,
Sat Aug 20, 2011 1:18:38 am

re: comment#13
Where I was born is irrelevant. Where my sister was born is relevant, but that happens to be the same place.
15) ren,
Sat Aug 20, 2011 1:18:41 am

agrees with: comment#13
Where I was born is irrelevant. Where my sister was born is relevant, but that happens to be the same place.
16) nucular_tomato,
Sat Aug 20, 2011 1:19:15 am

When I saw the title of the post, I thought you were describing a very different situation, and it struck a very strange chord.
17) ren,
Sat Aug 20, 2011 1:19:26 am

re: comment#11
There was a very odd coincidence when my sister was born. On the same day, another girl was born at the same hospital and that girl was given the exact same Chinese name. The romanization of her name differed by one letter. My mother knew about this and probably convinced herself that a switch had happened because of this.
i can't see this happening today. if there really was an issue, they would test.
18) erdos0,
Sat Aug 20, 2011 1:20:43 am

re: comment#16
When I saw the title of the post, I thought you were describing a very different situation, and it struck a very strange chord.
Interesting. What situation did you think this was going to be about?
19) erdos0,
Sat Aug 20, 2011 1:21:00 am

re: comment#17
i can't see this happening today. if there really was an issue, they would test.
This was in 1972.
20) ren,
Sat Aug 20, 2011 1:22:27 am

re: comment#19
This was in 1972.
for some reason, i assumed around 40 years ago.
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