Brenda, My Sister

Where do I even start?  Brenda has been one of my greatest joys and my biggest pains, which is what every little sister should be.

I always thought that I hated sharing a room, and resented that I had to share with a sister my WHOLE LIFE.  When I finally got my own room for a little while, I was lonely.  I missed sharing with my sister.  I missed our late night giggles.  I didn't realize how much fun we had had making mom and dad say "girls!" 500 times a night.

I always thought that I hated sharing clothes.  Well, I don't know if sharing is the word, because I don't think I wore Brenda's very often, but if she wore mine, there was sure to be a stain on it when she returned it.  Now I think, who cares?  They were just clothes!  And how lucky I was to have a sister who was close to my same size and who wanted to wear what I wore.

I still have a hard time forgiving Brenda for being so cute and photogenic.  It's hard to be the ugly big sister next to a perfect blond haired blue eyed angel in every picture.  I can't think of anything good to say about that.  ;)

A recent fun memory is coming across the finish line at the triathlon together.  It was way more fun and meaningful to me than it would've been if I had won the whole thing.  When I saw we were getting out of the pool at the same time, I was really excited.  It might seem like a silly thing, but it was really neat for me to finish something we had never finished before, and to finish it together, holding hands.

One of my favorite times was when I got to spend almost a week at Brenda's house in Ridgecrest after Ethan was born.  She didn't really need me by the time I got there... she was so self-sufficient, her house was already clean, Ethan was a good baby... but I cherish that time we spent together.  I loved talking, sewing, cooking, and just being together.  It was also wonderful holding and snuggling a sweet soft baby in the middle of the night.

We had our hard times growing up, we've had our hard times as adults... but the important thing to me is that Brenda is my sister, and will always be my sister, and I love her with all my heart.  And there are enough of the really good times together that those hard times don't really even matter.

I wanted this to be funny, and maybe later when I'm not all teary I can write something funny.  (Because Brenda is truly hilarious), but for now, this will have to do.

I love you, Brenda!  Have a happy happy happy happy birthday!