Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Sister, Sister

I have started this blog a million times, it seems.
Deleting the whole thing.
Typing, backspacing, typing, backspacing, typing, clearing the whole field.  Typing again.
Slipping and falling on the ice produced in last week's storm and taking time for my ankle to heal.
Typing again, deleting a paragraph and starting over.

I wanted to make sure I got it right, I wanted to make sure I did my admiration justice.  I wanted to ensure I didn't sugar coat anything, but also didn't "air out too much of our dirty laundry".

I can put it simply by saying that the relationship I have with my sisters is not untypical of many other siblings.  It's been filled with ups and downs; beautiful moments and times I'd rather forget.  We have all said and done things that were less than admirable, yet we've all been heroic in each other's lives when it was most needed. 

I could write about both of my sisters, but today I'm focusing on my sister, Alison.

My beautiful sister and her adorable little boy, Grayson

When we were growing up, being 18 months apart (yes, Mom..we are eighteen months apart, not TEN months apart) proved to be both a blessing and a curse.  We shared everything: a bedroom, clothing, toys, friends, everything.  But, what had the greatest impact was that we shared space....pretty much all of our space.  Alison was much more organized than I and I'm sure it drove her nuts when we were forced to be roommates.

I remember being so protective of my little sister.  One year in elementary school, Alison was at Seabreeze and I was home schooled.  I was so terrified that someone would take her while she was walking to school that I would walk with her to ensure she got there safely, and then run home as fast as I could; looking over my shoulder almost the whole way home, scared to death (we had to pass some pretty scary looking woods on our path).  The saying, "I can say anything about my sister, but you better not say a word" applied to us.  We both said things that were hurtful, as I'm sure all sisters do, but we had each other's back if anyone else uttered an unkind word. 

The beautiful thing about having a sister to grow up with, and grow old with, is that you have a friend who's priceless when you mature to the point that you realize what a blessing is in your life; and finally get past all of the pettiness.

"Aunt Wally" and Molly at the hospital when Reagan was born, Sept. 2006

I could go on and on about the teenage years and the time(s) we (against better judgement, probably) were roommates as adults, but I'd rather focus on the times we've shared that have been wonderful, and look towards the future with great hope and anticipation.

Me and Alison, sometime probably in 2001..not exactly sure of the year, though

We have had the great fortune of having kids who are all around the same age, marrying men who are fantastic husbands (and pretty amazing brother-in-laws) and living (fairly) close to each other, so our families get to spend time together (of course, not as much as I'd like...but, I'm selfish like that).  I watch Alison, as a mother, wife, friend, business woman and sister and stand in awe of her.  She is so talented and juggles life with such grace.  As a child I knew one day I'd say, "I'm so proud of my sister",  but I never knew I'd have so much to be proud of and that my heart would overflow with amazement as I look at face I used to hide from when she'd realize I took her clothes out of her closet without asking.  :)

1 comment:

  1. All I remember is you beating me with that broom handle when mom wasn't home :) Just kidding. This was a really sweet post. Thank you!

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