Celebrating My Sister

I know that it is possible to live without a sister. In theory. I know there are plenty of people who do not have one, or who are estranged from theirs. In my head I know this to be true, but in my heart I just can't figure out how in the world people manage it. In the last few years I have become much more sentimental relative to my big sister. Maybe as I get older I can see how quickly the years are slipping by, or maybe as my children start needing me less I start needing her more. Mostly, I think it has a lot to do with watching her struggle over the past few years to get healthy. Whatever my reasons, there is no time like my sister's birthday to blog about the blessings of sisterhood.

When she married her high school sweetheart, I was eleven. I watched him sing to her at their wedding and I thought about the importance of following your heart. She gave me my first nephew when I was fourteen. An aunt was born. For the first time, I realized that the intensely protective love that I thought I had reserved for my own children could be felt even for a child I did not bring into this world. I did not realize I would love her children as if they were my own. When I was seventeen, she brought my second nephew into this world, and I learned about the fragility and uncertainty of life. This would not be her only lesson for me about that.

As I consider what life would be like without a sister, I wonder who else would have helped me double team our brother when he was being especially obnoxious? Who would have whispered and giggled with me late into the night? Who would have done my hair for prom or given me my first glimpse of the delivery room? Who would have helped me do cartwheels in the back yard or yanked out my eyebrows for the first time?

Don't get me wrong. My sister is not perfect. She is kind of a show-off, actually. She makes our parents all of these homemade artistic masterpieces for holidays. And I bring them like a calendar, or lotion or something. She use to enjoy sticking me in the grass when I was small because I did not like the feel of it on my bare legs, and I would freeze up with discomfort. I remember a few times on grade card day when she and our brother did not want to play with me because my grades might have been a little more impressive that semester. She often ran me off during her teenage years in an attempt to have more privacy when her friends came over. But NEVER in my life have I doubted her devotion to me. Never have I had a problem I was struggling with or a triumph to celebrate without being able to call her and know with one hundred percent certainty that she was going to be on my side. The list of people like that in my life is very short. I know she will get my jokes, remind me of my strong points and tolerate my bad ones.  I read that a sister is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost. That is true. But it is also a whole lot of adulthood. It is hearts and souls combined with laughter and tears. Happy Birthday, Vanita! May this year bring you strength, joy, peace, and love! I hope you all take a moment today to celebrate your sister.