Adopted Sisters Develop Bond Despite Distance
Danielle Brown had no clue she had a sister until a few minutes before she met her.
Years ago, her adoptive parents drove from their home in Nebraska to Coeur d’Alene with 5-year-old Danielle and her younger brother.
They stopped to visit Neil and Susan Dredge.
“We were driving up their driveway and I asked why we were stopping and they said, `To see your sister,”’ Danielle says. “This little girl came out of the house and I thought, `This is my sister.”’ The little girl was Angela, the Dredges’ adopted daughter. She was 3. Both girls were born to a Wisconsin college student who stayed in close touch with the families who adopted them.
That first meeting eight years ago blossomed into lengthy phone calls and annual summer visits that keep Angela and Danielle closer than most sisters.
“We talk on the phone a few times a day,” 11-year-old Angela says, flinging her legs over her sister’s lap and holding her hand.
The Dredges hadn’t planned on children. One of Susan’s friends was arranging to privately adopt the newborn baby of a Midwestern college student. Susan’s friend wanted a boy. The student gave birth to a girl.
On impulse, the Dredges decided they wanted the baby.
“Given an opportunity like that, you certainly don’t turn it down,” Susan says.
The birth mother mentioned that she’d had another daughter by a different father, but it wasn’t until Angela was 3 that an adoption agency in Nebraska connected the girls’ adoptive families.
“It was one of the most enjoyable meetings ever,” Susan says. “We were so amazed at how much the girls look alike.”
The parents marvel at the similarities. Bolivian ancestry gives both girls tanned skin and dark hair and eyes. They’re both musically talented.
Danielle and Angela revel more in their shared view of the world.
“We think the same things about people,” Angela says, giggling with her sister over a private joke. “We like B*Witched, ‘N Sync, the Backstreet Boys.”
And their huge, warm-hearted clan that includes all adoptive and biological parents and grandparents.
“It pays at Christmas,” Angela says.
Homebodies
Home ownership is more possible than some people believe. It just takes some creativity and elbow grease.
Habitat for Humanity helps people with reliable incomes under $30,000 build and buy their own homes. Volunteers help with the labor. Local businesses donate tons of materials.
It’s a great deal, if you qualify. To find out, stop by the Kootenai County Extension Office community room, 106 E. Dalton Ave., Coeur d’Alene, 10 a.m. to noon, Saturday.
If you don’t need a home but are willing to swing a hammer or paintbrush, call the Habitat office at 667-3116.
Cleaning house
Don’t toss the clothes your kids won’t wear to school this year. The Women’s Center in Coeur d’Alene wants them and anything else that might help women start over after they’ve left abusers.
The center’s drop-off station is at 6055 Government Way, behind Diane’s Second Time Around Consignment Store. Volunteers are there Mondays through Wednesdays, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. For details, call 664-9303.
Super sale
Kootenai Medical Center’s employees are throwing a giant garage sale from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday on a soccer field north of the hospital. Need some surgical booties?