Sister, Sister

"A sister is a gift to the heart, a friend to the spirit, a golden thread to the meaning of life."
-- Isadora James
For 9 years of my life, I was an only child. I remember always wanting a sister, mainly to have someone to play with and have a real true friend. I knew that wasn't possible because my mom's doctor told my mom after a tubal pregnancy when I was 3ish that she wouldn't be able to have any more children.

I remember I was in 3rd grade and my mom had lunch with me at school. She said "I have a surprise for you, but Dad and I will tell you when you get home from school." I was trying to guess what it was, but my mom wouldn't tell me. I remember when I got home and sitting on the chair in the living room, mom and dad looked real excited and my dad said that I was going to have a brother or sister. I remember oddly asking "do we get to keep it?" I guess I've never really been good with my words...but it was shock and confusion that set in because I couldn't believe I was going to be a big sister.

For many months, I prayed and prayed and even wished on my birthday candles on my 9th birthday that I would get a sister since. All summer I couldn't wait until the due date, which was towards the end of August/beginning of September. On September 4th, my dad woke me up in the middle of the night saying it was time to go to the hospital. What timing that was since that was the first day of 4th grade and my mom and dad promised me that I could be there for the delivery. Also, I remember styling my hair some funky way and I had to go to the hospital with my bangs sticking up in the air and my hair looking like a mess...real embarrassing for a 4th grader. 

I have to be honest, labor was boring! We waited a long time and it was hard to see my mom in pain, especially when the baby was not positioned correctly and was pushing on her back. It was noon and the doctor said "it's time." I got super excited. 30 minutes went by and the baby came out. Guess what it was?? A girl!!! Yes, my wish came true. I was the happiest girl in the world.

Having a baby in the house was interesting, but mom and dad let me help. I learned at a young age on how to change diapers, feed babies, put them to sleep, etc. I even had to rescue my sister two times because she was choking on a frito and a penny. Actually, back to the frito incident...I remember a couple of days before that, I watched a morning show and they showed what to do if your baby is choking. I remember listening closely because I figured that information would come in handy. I remember when Erin was choking and my mom couldn't get it out. I said "let me try." I applied what I learned from the show and sure enough, it worked. I was so proud of myself.

Having a sister was different than I thought. In fact, when she was a toddler, she was so annoying. She would destroy my things and I couldn't have a clean room because she would mess things up. Argh! However, those years went by quickly. It's funny when people ask me if I have any siblings. Of course I say yes and that we are 9 years apart. I love the looks and response I get. They always ask if there is anyone in the middle. I say nope! And they still look confused. 

I almost lost Erin when I was 17. My dad had some bee boxes on our 10 acre property. One afternoon, my dad went to check out the bees and Erin went with. Erin got stung and my mom took her to the house to get some benadryl just in case she got any reaction since this was her first time getting stung by a bee. We had just enough medicine. Within minutes, she started to change. She got pale looking, her skin started to rash and she was puffing up like a marshmallow right in front of me. Then she said she couldn't breathe. Of course my mom called 911.Since we lived out in the country, any emergency assistance would take longer than usual. We were all confused...and freaking out. The ambulance arrived and was able to help Erin. The paramedic said that if my mom hadn't have given Erin the benadryl, she would have died. Turns out Erin is deathly allergic to bee stings (obviously). Shortly after, the bee boxes went away and my dad retired from that hobby.

For being 9 years apart, Erin and I are really close. I do admit we had our rough moments when she was in high school. We fought a lot and didn't see eye to eye, but we are starting to grow closer again. Erin graduated last year from high school and now she is in beauty school. I am so proud of her. I really admire how hard she works and that she is pursuing what she always has wanted to do. Even though she has only been in beauty school since February, she does great work and I am even impressed by her skills.

The only sad thing is that we don't live near each other. We live about 5 hours away. It's really hard because I miss having sister, sister time and doing fun things together. But it seems that when we are together, it's like distance hasn't hindered us at all. I love that.

I am so thankful that God provided Erin in my life. I will always cherish the memories we had and the memories we will create in the future.

Here is my top ten favorite memories I have had with Erin:

1. The day she was born
2. The last night of our Hawaii trip
3. Erin visiting me in college
4. Being my maid of honor at my wedding
5. Spending the weekend just us two as mom and dad went away
6. Riding the bus home from school
7. Dressing up and putting make up on each other and pretending we were at the Oscars
8. Graduation
9. Girl Scouts
10. *Sparkles*

I LOVE YOU ERIN!!! YOU ARE THE BEST SISTER IN THE WORLD!!!