Heather was just fifteen months old when I took my place as her baby sister. She was my very first best friend and I still count her as best of the best. One of the wonderful things about moving back near my parents is that we are also very near to my sisters family and can reach their house in just an hour and a half. Most of my earliest memories include my sister and a good number of them involve us getting into some sort of mischief. On most of those occasions I don't even know which ideas were initiated by whom, there was always just this unspoken, common assent. We always thought alike. On several occasions in high school, we got dressed for school and headed out the door without ever really looking at each other, neither of us being morning people, only to see each other later in the day and discover that we had dressed alike. We were often asked "Don't you guys ever fight?", a question that often puzzled me. Why would I fight (more than occasionally) with a sister as amazing as Heather? I was always so proud of my sister and always looked up to her. I was surprised once, when we were young adults and she was demonstrating a new skill for me, when she asked me "Aren't you proud of me?". I always wanted my big sister to be proud of me, but it never occurred to me that it wasn't a complete given that I was proud of everything she did. When my husband and I moved away from San Diego, one of the hardest things I had to do was to leave my sister and her five week old daughter behind. For some time after that, it wasn't unusual for me to wake up crying after a nightmare that involved me losing my sister somehow. When I found myself struggling to forge new friendships in our new home, Heather was the one I frequently reached out to for comfort. She patiently and lovingly encouraged me through many tearful phone calls in those days. I thank God for putting Heather and I in a family together and blessing us with a relationship that continues to delight me. I'm also super thankful for the extended family that Heather has brought into my life. Her husband, Mike, who genuinely loves his wife's family and fits right in with us. And three terrific kids that are an absolute delight to their doting aunt.
Thank you, Lord, for this beautiful family and for allowing me the pleasure of having them in my life!
1 comment:
Very nicely worded. Too bad I'm so far away from such a loving family.
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