Sisters...Sisters...

There were never such devoted sisters! Love that song. Can you name the movie its from? If so, bonus points for you!

So my blog post today is dedicated to my dear sister B. I pretty much think she walks on water and I kinda want to be her. I love her to bits. She is five and a half years younger than I am, and for the most part the age difference has worked out nicely for us. We were never on top of each other at school, so we didn't have that competitive thing going on that most siblings deal with. She acts like I can give her great life advice since I'm older, but honestly I think its more that she learns from my mistakes.

When Mom and Dad first told me I was getting a baby sister or brother, I guess I was pretty excited in my little five year old way. I was pretty lonely as a kid I guess, because I had two imaginary friends. (See I was a loser then too) Mom and Dad knew I approved of the addition to the family because they noticed that my imaginary friends Hodge Podge (a blue elephant) and Jack Pumpkin-Head (self explanatory) weren't being mentioned anymore. Finally my mom asked, and I told her that they moved into the attic to play checkers because they didn't like babies. I didn't try to move into the attic with them, so I guess I had decided I like babies.

I wasn't too thrilled when they brought B home though, because she cried at night and I was a little diva Kindergartener and needed my beauty sleep. A few months later I realized that I had a golden opportunity to manipulate this baby in my favor and tried to blame all sorts of stuff on her, including the time I called 911 when my mom was in the shower. In my defense, they never really explained what an emergency was...I probably was ready to change the channel on the tv and considered that an emergency. When B was a little older I could get her to do anything I wanted, including what we called Granny Face. Our great-grandmother generally did not wear her teeth anytime we were over there, so I taught B how to bring her lips inward so that she looked like she didn't have teeth like Granny. Mom would see her make that face and oh man she always got in trouble. She didn't know until years later that I was the one encouraging B to do it. So yes, I was a mean older sister for awhile, but deep down I knew I had a really good thing and never ever hated her.

B was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes when she was 10. I was a sophomore in high school at the time, and it scared the living crap out of me because suddenly my sister's entire life changed. Hell, all of our lives changed. I was a little bitter at first because Mom and Dad gave her major attention and I was just their other kid. In hindsight, I was never treated badly or anything...I think it was all teenage angst. However, I do think a big part of that angst was being faced with the idea that my sis is going to have a rough road and, in my morbid head, wouldn't be around for as long as I wanted her to be. I partly viewed the diabetes as a death sentence (it had been for my uncle) so I was terrified and it was easier to be angry than to deal with it. Like I said before, I knew B was an amazing sibling and person and I was already really close to her at that point, so it was really scary for me.

B is one of only two people who I feel completely safe around. I mean safe in the way that I can say or do anything and she wouldn't judge me at all. The other is T, and well he's the male version of B personality wise so it makes sense. We have so many silly little inside jokes that can make me giggle for hours and it truly brightens my day. I aspire to be more like her in every way. I'm super proud of everything she's accomplished and I'm fiercely protective of her. Mess with her and I'll break your face. She'd do the same for me. We're awesome like that.

So basically my sister is amazing. B is always there for me no matter what and puts up with all the annoying things about me. Having her around is pretty sweet, and I hope she knows just how much I love her.