Friday, March 23, 2012

Happy Birthday Meister

Today is a special day for me.
It is my sister's birthday.
When I got married, she was only 4 years old and at that time,
I only knew this bratty squirt as a royal pain.
I was her third parent and hated the responsibility.
We seldom talked, with little or no interests connecting us.


Fast forward 17 years.
Probably out of obligation, she asked me to be in her wedding.
At that moment in time, we realized.....
"You do that too?"
...we had more in common than we knew.
Thus a bond was formed.


Together, since then, we often
Giggle
(twice we've whispered long into the night in a double bed
with 3 sleeping children in the room),
Solve world/family issues
(if only everyone were like us...it would be Utopia) 
Cry
(the pain seems less when we share the burden)
  Scream
(once, yes recently, during a nightmare,
she pulled me out of bed, onto the floor, and landed me on top of her)
 Lose our way
(we've spent more time than I'd like to admit trying to find
Unnamed Road
...and we're still looking for it)
and Laugh and Laugh and Laugh
(it's of highest security what we laugh about).


I suppose all sisters experience this sister bond,
but I can't help feeling my sister is the best.
She is everything I'm not.
And that is probably why I love her so.


I know no one as compassionate
 (no wonder she's a nurse...her concern envelops you).
I know no one as passionate
(don't get in her way if you say something offensive about her children or sister).
I know no one as good a listener
(always willing to share her shoulder).
I know no one as selfless 
(unconditionally, she puts others first).
She is a fabulous
Mother, Wife, Aunt, Daughter, Sister, Nurse, Student and  Friend.


I could go on and on about this sister of mine.
I feel blessed that we are making up for lost time;
and cannot imagine not having her input in so much of my life.


Happy Birthday to the "Best-est" Sister :)


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Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Happy Birthday Albert

Pssst... I know you're not going to believe this,
but I have a 50 year old brother who is younger than me.
I know, I know...but it's true.


My first recollection of this interference with my solitude at the Huizing House
was soon after he was born and placed in the baby buggy.
My Mother had this little seat that was clamped across the top
and away we'd go.
Miles and miles of walking.
Up hills, down hills, 'round hills.
I don't know if we had to walk so much because he was such a "crier" or if my Mother needed some fresh air.


It was clear, right from the beginning, that this bundle of joy was set on scrutinizing EVERYTHING.
Oh, I could tell you stories; like when he hid in a metal garbage can on a summer day (with the lid on) for hours;
or when he sat behind my Mother at the dentist, slowly, silently, deliberately unscrewing the head piece off until her head snapped back with a sudden jolt.
(Fortunately she didn't lose any teeth)
He has always been a mischievous one and I'm sure that hasn't changed.


For most of our younger/adolescent years, we were a musical duet.
He the trumpet, me the piano.
Church, school, family...you name it. You asked. We played.
And played. And played. And played.
It's no wonder none of our children have any serious musical interest.
We had enough for all 8 of them.


His talents, of course, go beyond music.
He's fun to be around and full of energy.
(How else would he be able to spend all that time with
Youth Groups?)
His laugh is contagious and seldom do you see him without a smile.
He's a good listener and knows how to sympathize/empathize.


Married on Christmas Eve,
(really?...I think I slept through Christmas 1988)
he is now a wonderful Father to 4 beautiful children
and a devoted husband to a wife who literally goes to
the ends of the earth for him.


Unfortunately, he lives in Canada now, on Prince Edward Island,
so I don't get to see him much,
but I hope to visit with him some time.


Boy, we've come a long way.
Happy Birthday.
And welcome to the Nifty Fifty Group.