Sisters

"The desire to be and have a sister is a primitive and profound one that may have everything or nothing to do with the family a woman is born to. It's a desire to know and be known by someone who shares blood and body, history and dreams, common ground and the unknown adventures of the future, the darkest secrets and the glassist beads of truth."

-Elizabeth Fishel

I am really missing my little sister today.

Did you know that she's going to be fifteen in a few weeks?

Yeah, I know. Holy cow.

I still remember where I was the day she was born. My kindergarden class was making a giant salad and it was my job to bring the squash. (Honestly, what kindergardener do you know that actually likes squash or salad?!)

Before I got a chance to eat part of the salad, my grandparents picked me up from school and told me that I had a brand new baby sister!

Bridget was born not breathing. That scared everyone at first. But she turned out alright.

I still remember her favorite toys from when she was a baby. The day she was born, my grandmother gave her a soft baby that looked sort of like this:

and Bridget has held on to that doll through thick and thin. She christened the doll "Old Baby". Old Baby is currently residing in a shadow box on Bridget's wall due to her frail nature. Old Baby has seen dirt, pets, baby food, and snot. She has been washed too many times to remember. Old Baby has seen a lot of love from my little sister.

Bridget refused to go to sleep without Old Baby. Despite Bridget always having her own room, she often slept in my room and vice versa. Sometimes I would steal Old Baby and hang her over the top bunk bed like I was going to drop her. Bridget didn't like that very much.

Even though we are six years apart, we still played with our Barbies and Polly Pockets together until I was in the eighth grade. We would spend hours building Barbietopia in our rooms together. At times, I felt like Bridget was my only constant friend I had growing up. I was never part of the popular crowd at school and I was too well read to ever fit in with my peers. Bridget never cared much about how weird I was, and she always wanted to play with me. That's why God gives us sisters I think.

If you have a sister nearby, go hug her and tell her that you love her.