I have six older brothers. Even the sixth one, my twin brother, is older than me (by five minutes. He won't ever let me live that down).
Because I have so many brothers, people often forget about my sister.
She's the third oldest. I'm the baby. There is enough of a gap that I feel that she is another mother. And yes... that is a very old picture of her.
Apparently, my crib was in her bedroom. She and I shared a room. I remember many a night when we would push each other out of the bed. I usually spent the night on the ground. We shared a queen sized bed. We were grateful when we each got our own bed.
My sister and I haven't always gotten along. Mostly when I felt she was mothering and I felt like I only needed one mother (that's a total lie... I definitely need 2 mothers to keep me out of trouble). But as I've gotten older, I've seen that she simply wants to save me from heartache that she has known, keep me from experiences that have caused her pain. And for that, I'm grateful.
When I was living abroad, I would receive letters from her. They were few and far between, she was in graduate school, getting her Ph.D—it was a busy time. But her letters were always timely and poignant. She had had similar experiences to me and I drew strength knowing that I was becoming like my big sister.
Even now, I sometimes wish I could be her. She is strong and happy and successful. She has a house and can do handy work. I usually end up stabbing myself with a screwdriver and then freaking out about getting tetanus. We've gotten into the habit of buying one another Christmas gifts. It's a nice little tradition that I really enjoy.
So, although it's been over a week since Mother's day, I want to simply give a little shout out to my sister for being the best non-Mom Mom. I've needed her, and I'm sure I'll still need her. And I'll forever be grateful that I have at least one other girl in the family.
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