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Friday, September 22, 2006Everyone Should Be So Lucky
 See the cutie with her thumb in her mouth? That's my "baby" sister Jamie.Today is her birthday. I was not quite three-and-a-half when Jamie was born. I accepted her arrival as a personal gift; this was my baby sister. My parents must have inserted that thought into my head, because I really did see her that way. I was allowed to hold her in my lap on the way home from the hospital (with no fear of being pulled over for violation of carseat laws, since there weren't any). I was bursting with Big Sister Pride. When she was just a couple of months old, I put my little hands on her belly and back and said, "Here we go, Suzie Klutz," flipping her from her belly to her back just the way I'd seen my mother do. Fortunately I didn't snap her neck, and she is able to walk upright today. When she was about ten months old, I crawled underneath the crib to retrieve a toy that Jamie, who was standing up at the crib railing, had dropped. My back bumped the metal release bar, the crib railing careened down, and my sister flew onto the linoleum. Mom almost had heart failure, but my sister, once again, survived. Jamie and I loved to play dress-up. She endured all the less desirable clothing and the hats that I didn't particularly like. What are big sisters for, right? When she got older, she was commanded to choose names for her Barbie and Ken dolls other than "Barbie" and "Ken," since my dolls were privileged to keep the original names, thank you very much. I thought up all the story lines for our pretend play, and I once trapped her in her bedroom by locking the bathroom door (adjacent to her room) and rigging the folding door between our rooms with a length of cloth knotted to my dresser. Sweet sister, wasn't I? Yet this is the girl who came to every theatrical performance I played a part in; the girl who sat on the sofa and requested song after song on the piano -- a diehard fan of Great Hits like "The Lonely Goatherd" from The Sound of Music, "One Tin Soldier" from my book of pop hits from the 60's and 70's, and various Christmas songs at any time of the year. And this is the girl who wrote me a note when I was in high school, telling me how beautiful and talented I was and how proud of me she was, when my world was caving in because of a ruthless acne assault. Yep. That's my sister. Our worlds diverged and we grew apart. Then, like a precious gift from the hand of God, we found our way toward each other again, worked through the hurts of the past, and rediscovered the undying friendship that began the day I first laid eyes on her tiny infant face. I love her dearly. Jamie is smart...feisty...generous...and she's got a dry, sharp wit that makes me laugh until my stomach hurts. She knows me way too well...and loves me, anyway. I can tell her really stupid, twitty things that might be twisting their way around inside my brain, and she not only listens, she understands. Seriously. If there's such a thing as "Sister Language," then we definitely speak it. We're not clones. In some ways, we are vastly different. But there is so much common ground that spending time with her -- even if it's on the phone or via email -- is like curling up on an old, comfortable sofa with a mug of hot cocoa. No, I'm not calling my sister "old." I can't do that, since I'm the elder sister. Yuck. Funny thing, too, is that we both hate our birthdays. We've decided it doesn't have anything to do with age, because we've hated our birthdays ever since we ceased being children. It might have something to do with the fact that our mother always made the day extra-special. It certainly has nothing to do with the fact that we're both slightly neurotic. Nothing whatsoever. Happy birthday, Sister, despite your hatred of the day. I, for one, love September the Twenty-second, and always will. Eat some chocolate chip cake for me. |
About Me
I am: Mother to five stunningly individualistic children... Writer of young adult fantasy... Passionate advocate for Women At Home... Madly in love with my husband... In need of Organic Gourmet Chocolate on a regular basis. I've got a Paypal account if you'd like to contribute to the cause....
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6of my readers are feeling chatty:
What a great tribute, I always wanted a sister and only got one stinky brother who tortured me, he is turning 40 in a couple of weeks.
What a tears-of-happiness inspiring post! :-)
I have to comment on the picture though, it is just *amazing* how much your own daughters resemble your childhood selves!
Happy Birthday Jamie!!
Nicely said, m'dear!
So nice! And what a cute picture!
Wow. Beautiful Jillian. Got me choked up just reading it. I'm such a sap.
Happy Birthday Jamie!
Ken
It is wonderful that you have a good relationship with your sister.
Visiting from Wendy's blog. :-)
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