30 Days of Gratitude - Day 17

Today is my sisters birthday and I was grateful to be able to spend it with her.  She is 3 years and 4 months younger than me so I've known her all of her life.  She is an amazing person and my best friend.  Don't get all weird thinking, what about your husband?  He is a dear too but the sister/sister relationship is different from the husband/wife relationship.  I can tell her anything and she always seems to know just what to say or not say, she is wise, humble, gracious, loving, empathetic.  She is beautiful both inside and out.  She has a positive attitude and almost always has a smile on her face.  She is an awesome mother to two wonderful boys.  She is so nurturing and always makes me feel welcome and loved.  I adore her and sometimes I secretly wish I could be just like her - she is beautiful, funny, skilled at putting on makeup, classy...many of things I sometimes feel I am not.  She is family.  My blood.  Someone who has known me almost all my life. 

I am blessed to be her older sister.  We choose to spend a lot of time together, well, as much as we can with families and living 300 miles apart.  Our families spend time together and I love that the kids are close with their cousins.  We have gone on vacations together, we spend holidays together, we make time to be together as sisters and as families.

We got along as kids and only a few times do I remember distinct fights.  I remember friends having horrible fights with their siblings and I didn't get it.  Maybe we were lucky?  It was when I went to college that we became even closer.  Campus was about a 15 minute drive from home and she visited me often in the sorority.  She joined the same sorority I was in and that further strengthened our bond.  She was a senior in college when my twins were born and though she was about a month away from graduation, she drove three hours south four weekends in a row to visit and help.  My husband and I were busy and overwhelmed with twins and she was a godsend.  We moved to another state when the twins were five weeks old and of course being poor and foolish young we decided to do it ourselves.  I drove the car with the twins, my husband the behemoth (uhaul) and she drove the pickup truck with the cat.  We trekked 400 miles in one very long day.  She never complained even when the cat was screeching.

"A sister is a gift to the heart, a friend to the spirit, a golden thread to the meaning of life." ~ Isadora James

Here are some pictures that I like.  I have a lot more at home, but since I am at her house and not mine I am relying on facebook for these photos.  But from the smiles on our faces, I am sure you can see just how close we are and how special our sister bond is.

At a young age c. 1968

In Mexico

At a Mariners game

A fun night out

The beauty of our friendship is that we are there for each other. I truly believe we would be friends even if we weren't related. And that is a wonderful feeling.  We are friends by choice and I love her dearly.  I wish my sister a very happy birthday and all the best today and always.  I am so grateful to be her sister, her friend and glad we could spend the day celebrating HER!

What are you thankful for?