My Sister

A couple of months ago, I saw a contest in Real Simple magazine. It was a blog contest and the topic that they asked people to write about was "The person I'm most surprised to be friends with is..." and you had to fill in the blank. The only rule was that it had to be 300 words or less. I submitted an entry and we were supposed to find out this week if I was a finalist. Well, I didn't hear anything so I'm assuming I'm not BUT I'm really happy that I submitted something anyway and I wanted to share what I wrote with all of you!

I want to say a word about this piece before you read it though. This piece is about my sister, Michelle. I have 2 other sisters, a younger half sister, Megan, and an older step sister, Carly, and they are both very dear to me. I was also blessed with a step brother later in life, Taylor. All of my siblings are so close to my heart. I chose to write about Michelle because we have been through so much together. Not only do we look quite a bit alike (we're often mistaken for twins), we have forged a relationship over the years that is so very, very close that we are pretty much inseparable.

Anyway, enough chatter! Enjoy!

 “When I grow up you will NEVER be allowed in my house!!” These were words my sister, Michelle, and I shouted at each other often. We frequently made this proclamation to each other, to family, friends, and anyone who would listen to us rave about how much we disliked each other.

Looking back, I’m not sure why we were such arch-enemies. I can’t remember what a single fight was about. Family and friends would remark to us and our parents that they had never seen siblings who fought so much.

On February 2, 1998, that all changed. I was in college when I got news that my father had lost his battle with cancer. When I got home, there was Michelle, running toward me with her arms open, tears streaming down her face. We collapsed into each other, sobbing. I stroked my little sister’s hair as she moaned “Why?” into mine.  Suddenly, my arch-enemy was my life line, my anchor, the only person who shared my pain.

The life of my friendship with my sister was born that day of my father’s death.

We’ve grown a lot in 13 years. Our shared grief eventually evolved into the shared joys of life: college, marriage, and most recently the birth of my daughter. We still fought over the years but have always been here for each other. Lately, I am often struck by the knowledge that I could not live without Michelle. She has been the constant in my life. The one person I never thought I would want in my circle of friends has become my best one.

I hope someday I can give my daughter the gift I was given. The gift of fighting, frustration, laughter, and unconditional love. The gift of a very first, very best friend. A sister.