So I am behind a total of four days on my Thirty Days with a Grateful Heart project. Luckily, I have four very closely related people to be thankful for, so I'll just write about them all in one shot. Efficient, yes?
Photo by Scissorina via Flickr
We'll go in order of arrival:
Day 13/30: Sarah Jayn
Sarah is my older sister, born just far ahead enough of me to claim ownership upon my arrival. She pushed my stroller, fed me bottles, and muscled my Mom out of the way at every opportunity, insisting that I was her baby. I must have been very likeable for the first few years of my life, because it wasn't until I started smashing her toys, embarassing her friends, and wreaking general havoc that Sarah had second thoughts about how much she liked me.
These days she seems to like me again, and for that I am grateful. Sarah is a fierce friend. You can always count on her to back you up and to go Mama Bear on anyone who means you harm. She also bakes delicious apple tarts, performs sewing machine miracles, and lets me cuddle her sweet chubby faced baby. You can get to know her on her own blog, Scissorina.
Day 14/30: Heather Anne
Just about nine months after I was born my parents found themselves pleasantly surprised with pregnancy number three. This was one of the luckiest things that ever happened for me, as I was gifted with a sibling so close in age that we were as good as twins. Imagine having a bult-in best friend every day of your life. Growing up with Heather was a lot of fun. So much fun that it makes me want to do crazy things like have multiple children in a row.
These days Heather and I are still as thick as theives. I work from her house every Thursday, where we giggle, joke, and lean on one another for inspiration and support.
Day 15/30: Melissa G
I met Melissa on the school bus when I was about seven years old. Though she's not my biological sister, I can't imagine life without her. She lived about half a mile away, in a house where Heather and I spent countless afternoons in the comfort of a friendship so close it could only have been forged in childhood. It's rare for someone to know you better than you know yourself, but with Melissa I never have to be shy or even careful. She knows what I mean no matter how I say it, and I can trust that whatever she tells me is the truth, even when she knows I won't like it.
Though she is still living back in Connecticut (much to my chagrin) we talk on the phone several times a week, never far behind on what the other is thinking, feeling, or doing. She's as much my family as anyone related by blood or marriage, and I'm thankful that fate put us in each other's path.
Day 16/30: Kitty Caity
When I was nine my parents decided to go for it, and have one last kid. Caitlin, whose full name is Caitlin Ariel, turned out to be something of a phenom. She's this wonderful combination of everything I love about my other sisters, all rolled into something brilliant and new. She's clever and multi-talented like Sarah, funny and determined like Heather, and she has a passion for life and deep well of emotion that I recognize in myself. On top of all this, she has her own unique personality, which shines through in everything she does.
Caity moved to Florida with my parents when she was eleven and I was twenty. We kept in touch, of course, but when Caitlin finally came to Austin last year things were different. Being really reunited after more than ten years living apart was almost like gaining a whole new sister. The little kid that I loved was gone, and in her place was a grown woman, one that I am glad to call my friend, and thankful to have as a sister.
Right now, I have all three biological sisters within the same city limits. It's all I can do not to kidnap Melissa and her three adorable kids, making us one big happy family. For now, I'm thankful to have them all in my life, wherever they choose to make their home.
P.S. This post is part of my 30 Days With a Grateful Heart series. You can see my other posts in this series on Mary Makes Dinner, Mary Makes Babies, and here on Mary Makes Pretty. Check out Bless Her Heart to find other bloggers participating in this series.