Just thinking about a special someone today...

Most of you probably don't know her.  After all, she's one of those free people--one of those happy, carefree individuals who are unencumbered with the endless work of writing word-filled thingys and posting them regularly on the internet.  (In other words, she doesn't have a blog.  So unless you have the privilege of knowing her in real life, I pity you. Because she's an awesome person to know.  She really is.)

Ahem.  She's my older sister.  And she happens to have a birthday this month, so I thought to celebrate I'd tell you all what a cool person she is.  And what it's like to be her sister.  And how very grateful I am for the distinction.  (This is going to be a rambling post,  so don't look for any cohesive order of subject.  I just feel like talking about my sister, so that's what I'm going to do.)

To begin with, it's Fall.  And Fall reminds me of my sister for three main reasons:

~Firstly, because she was born in the Fall.  (Okay, so that's not a very original reason, but it's true nonetheless.)

~Secondly, because Fall is her favorite season.  The cool weather, the beautiful colors, the inevitable death of the insect population...it's just her time of year.

~And thirdly, because the feel of a crisp fall air always manages to shoot me back to my childhood, when Sister and I used to play dress-up outside for hours on end.  Our long dresses flowing in the wind, our shawls draped elegantly over our shoulders, and our high-heeled shoes going clip, clop on the well traversed driveway.  Oh!  Happy times.


We always used to say this was a picture of us. 
I'm the girl with brown hair, and my sister's the one with blond hair.

The things we do together:

~Talk, talk, talk and TALK.  We can have the most hilarious conversations.  Also quite serious ones.  (Yes, we are capable of being sensible.  I kid you not.  ;))

~We read each other's minds.  Really, you don't always need words to communicate.  Especially when your sister's got half of your brain and you've got half of hers.  ;)

~On cold winter days, when we haven't anything else to do, you can find us in front of our bedroom heater. Keeping warm...and  yes, talking.  (It's what we do!)

~We dream about our future homes.  Like what kind of a man each of us is going to marry, and how our families are going to be super close friends.  (Yes.  Our husbands will get along with each other, and they will be friends! There's no two ways about it.)

~Together we keep invasive insects under control. You see, my sister can't stand bugs, but she's super good at spotting them in the house.  That's where I come in, and where we make an excellent team.  She spots 'em, and I kill 'em.  (Sometimes I wish she wasn't so very good at spotting them...)

~Shop for clothes. Shopping isn't our favorite thing to do, but every now and then we'll find ourselves in the mood and then it's always more fun to do it together.  (Also going out to lunch afterward as payment for our hard work of looking for new clothes can be a great incentive.)

~Baking cookies.  We've had a cookie baking partnership ever since we were nine and ten years old.  Our specialty is a quadruple batch of chocolate chip cookies (with a family our size there's no point in making anything smaller), and we've had the recipe memorized for ages.  We also very much enjoy eating the cookie dough.  (I mean, that's the whole point of making cookies, right?)  And I admit, we eat rather a lot of it.  When it comes to cookie dough and cookies (or anything sweet for that matter) we're like Frog and Toad.  We've got lots of willpower.  

My sister's humor is sort of like my own, dry and sarcastic.  Here's a sample of some of her great quotes:

~ "Every time I get this outdoorsy, adventurous, tomboyish feeling...I see a bug...and the feeling leaves me."

~ "In all things strive to do your best.  If that is not possible than please refrain from doing your worst."

~ "In life one must learn to deal with difficulties.  Sometimes you just have to eat oatmeal."

~ "Life is peachy.  It's like a canned peach.  I hate canned peaches."

~ "What did The Hobbit gross in its first year?  I don't know, but it grossed me out!"

 

And finally, her plan for regulating one's activities to correspond with the ever-changing temperature of the outdoors.

Freezing: Better thaw the house out by making cookies

Cool: Perfect time to make cookies.

Warm:  Last chance at making cookies before it gets too hot.

Hot:  For the good of the family, deal with the heat and make cookies.

10 Random Facts about my Sister:

1. One of her very favorite movies is Amazing Grace.  She used to watch it every year on her birthday.

2.  She loves J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy.  And Frodo is her favorite character.

3.  She is one of the most generous people I have ever met.  Giving money without a second thought when she sees a need.  (You may want to steer clear of asking her for a quarter, though.  In the matter of dimes and nickels, she's stingy.  She collects them, and they're very precious to her, so ask her for a hundred dollars or something, but don't try to take one of her cent pieces.  ;))

4.  One time she won a game at a baby shower where you had to connect sixteen baby names to their meanings.  And she didn't just win the game, she got every single answer right.  (That's because she reads baby name books for fun!)

5. She collects tea cups.  But they must be bone china, made in England, and very pretty.  Otherwise they won't make the cut.

6. She's an excellent piano player, and plays somewhat by ear, which means she can pick out songs without having the music in front of her.  (I'm so envious!)

7. Singing is another of her talents.  Don't listen to her when she says she can't sing.  That's just her being a silly perfectionist.  (Something that tends to run in our family, I think.)

8. Sometimes I liken her to Sally from the Dick Van Dyke Show, because she enjoys making jokes about her desperate state of singleness, and how there really ought to be "mail order husbands."  Really, it's only fair.   ;)  

9. She's the type of person who brightens up a room, and is more often than not the life of the party.  Things are a lot less fun when she's not around.

10. Talking is one of the things she does best.  She'll say she talks too much.  But I say, somebody has to do the talking.  And when she does it so well, why knock it?

Dear Sister-Mine:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!  Here's a piece of cheese cake for you.  Sorry it's not raspberry cheese cake, but it's the best I could find.  (Oh, and pardon me for taking a bite out of it.  It's not that I was hungry or anything. I just had to check and make sure it wasn't poisoned!  You know.)  I want to say something profound about how much you mean to me, and all that, but I find it's rather difficult.  All I know is, I miss you when you're not home. I get excited when I hear you'll be home from work earlier than usual.  I love spending time with you, even if we're doing nothing.  You make life so much fun.  (And I'm not just saying that.  It's absolutely true!)  Thanks for sharing your heart with me.  For confiding in me.  For allowing me to experience your experiences with you.  I'm excited for what God is doing in your life right now, and I'm so blessed by your sensitivity to His spirit and your desire to hear His voice and fulfill His plan for your life.  

I just love you.  That's all. 

*****

To the outside world we all grow old.  

But not to brothers and sisters.  

We know each other as we always were.  

We know each other's hearts.  

We share private family jokes.  

We remember family feuds and secrets, family griefs and joys.  

We live outside the touch of time.    

~Clara Ortega

My sister and I when we were little.  Aren't we cute? :)

The best thing about having a sister was that I always had a friend.  

~Cali Rae Turner