Happy Birthday Dear Sister

On December 7th 1986 my dad took me and my younger brother to see the movie “An American Tail”,  later that night our little sister was born. Today she celebrates her 25th birthday.  Now that we are both adults our 6 1/2 year difference doesnt seem like much, I forget sometimes that she doesnt have the same early childhood memories as me, I feel like she should also remember how I used to sit in the kitchen floor and feed her a bottle while our mom cooked dinner or that I taught her how to climb out of her crib when she was 2.

But loving memories like those didnt start for her until later on.  We didnt play well together growing up, in fact we didnt get along much at all, she was (and still is in some ways) what all “last babies” are…a brat!  Oh! the the knock down, drag out fights we would have!  When she was 12 I left for college never to return to the home or state I grew up in.

It was during her high school years that we grew to be friends as she looked up to me for advice and support.  I have always been a cheerleader for her accomplishments and she has always been the little sister determind on making her own way.  For years my home, no matter what state it was in, has been her second home. She stayed school breaks and summers with me and my husband and we took her on vacation with us too.

When she became a mother, my circle of love instantly grew.  I know that even though I see my niece only a few times a year the love my sister and I have for each other makes it easy for my niece to learn to adore me as if I was there with her everyday.

Today we are best friends, we talk or text at least 10 times a day.  We have no secrets and we always have time to listen to each others rambling, no matter how mundane.  We dont agree on everything, we are definately as different as our hair color.  We dont judge or compete and we arent afraid to critique with honesty because we know that we will support each other no matter what. I’m proud of the life she has made and the love she as found with her new husband and I wish her many more years of Happy Birthdays.  I love you Jes.

You can follow my amazingly talented and creative sister here   capturedbyjes.blogspot.com

UPDATE*** I get a ton search terms for “baby Jessica”  If you are looking for the little baby that fell down the well in 1987, it wasn’t my sister.  Although they were born the same year, I vividly  remember following the story on the news for days (she was trapped for 58 hours) and how glad we all were that our baby Jessica was safe next to us.