To My Sister

Last weekend Stephen and I went to Dayton, Ohio to visit my sister, brother-in-law, and two nieces Lucy and Iris. We left after I got out of work on Thursday, rode the five hours to their home, and was able to hold Iris, who is almost 3 months, and take a peek at Lucy sleeping before heading to bed exhausted. I woke up early on Friday though and sat with Sarah in bed until Lucy got up. She was, well, a little surprised to see me I think. But she warmed up quickly and went to wake Uncle Stephen. We preceded for the rest of the weekend to have a lovely time visiting. We played with Lucy, held and soothed Iris, and had great conversation with Sarah and Alan. 

Whenever I visit my sister I always come away feeling filled. She is a wonderful friend and mentor to me, full of wisdom and advice, a great sense of humor, and such a deep love for me. I honestly don't know how I could get through my life with out her. She was my comrade in arms when we were growing up and our parents were being parents, she was the girl I wanted to be someday when she went off to college and became a 'grown-up', and she is now the woman I want to be. A loving and caring wife and mother who is always reading, writing, working on a project, learning something new. Sarah is absolutely everything I could ask for in a big sister and she is one of the best friends I've ever had. I look forward to growing old with her as my friend and sharing many more life experiences with her. Maybe one day we will even live like the two aunts in one of my favorite stories....

'What would a young pretty girl do down here with all this sand?'

'We like the sand, Jo.'

'But we're old maids, Cal, with no vices except cigarettes and double-dummy mah-jongg...'

--'The Unspeakable Egg'

F. Scott Fitzgerald