Thankful Thursday...My Sister

Hello!  

How is your week going?  I tell you what, mine has actually been quite busy and I have so much to say and share but, as you know, it is Thankful Thursday!  So, in order to get right to the point and share my thankfulness before I write a novel for the intro of the funny happenings of my week, I am determined to remain focused.  Perhaps tomorrow, I can share some of the interesting happenings in my week.  

I have been thinking about this post all week.  Today, I want everyone to know how very thankful that I am for my sister.  The ironic thing about me posting this for my Thankful Thursday this week, is that it just so happens to be "I LOVE MY SISTER" week! Honestly, if it weren't for Facebook, I would never have even known this existed.  I had planned blogging this before it was even brought to my attention.  Perfect timing!  What better way to honor my sister than to do it during, "I LOVE MY SISTER" week.  

My sister has been an incredibly important part of my life.  Let me give you a little background on her.  My sister, Suzy, is 11 years older than me.  This has been an added strength to our relationship. Having so many years between us, we never went through those times of the sibling bickering and fighting.  I honestly, can't remember very many times that we fought throughout our lives.  The lack of conflict between us, allowed us to build a close knit relationship.  I always have looked up to her with admiration.  She is one of the most kind hearted people that I know.  She would do anything for anyone and expect nothing in return.  In this twisted world that we live in today, there are not many people that possess this quality.  I am so very proud to call her my sister.

When I was little, she would even include me on dates with her boyfriends.  They would take me to the toy store or to get ice cream. As an adult, thinking back on this, makes me even more thankful that she cared enough and felt that I was important enough to include me on these occasions.  I, myself, was the youngest, so I never had someone younger to do this with, and I am not sure, as a teenager, that I would have thought doing such a thing would be all that cool. For my sister, it wasn't even a question.  It was the bond that we had right from the start.  

As I grew older, I always looked up to her for advice and understanding.  It didn't matter what I was going through, she was always there to listen and give guidance. It didn't matter how busy she was at the time, she always made time for me. 

Suzy has five amazing children of her own and an incredible husband, who just happens to be one of those guys that was gracious enough to allow me on their dates.  In fact, when he was away at college, at the University of Michigan, he would regularly mail me letters and lists of words for me to fill in our Mad Libs.  Sweet, I know it!  I will never forget these memories.  Although, she had five children, she still made the time, regardless of how silly or irrelevant my life issues were.  She is a woman of love, compassion and faithfulness.  

I was lucky enough that she lived close by as she began to raise her family.  I have always had a very special relationship with my nieces and nephews.  I was only 13 when my first nephew was born.  It has definitely been wonderful to have been so young as she continued to grow her family and I built very close relationships with each one of them.  It allowed me to be very involved in their lives and activities as they grew up.  As I have grown older and taken notice to others families, I know that what we have is something unique and something that I should be very thankful to have.  Some families hardly even know their siblings, much less, their nieces and nephews.  Add this to my long list of thankfulness.  

Suzy has stood by me and supported me in whatever my goals or dreams have been.  She always encourages me and keeps me believing in myself, even at the times when I struggled believing in myself.  

My sister has been at every important event in my life.  She attended my college graduation with her family, and I remember my youngest niece getting lost in the crowd for a split moment, and our hearts sinking with panic.  She stood as my matron of honor in my wedding. She rushed to the hospital in the wee hours of the morning, to help and encourage me as my husband and I prepared for the birth of our daughter.  

As sisters, we have shared all of our feelings, happy or sad, our problems, our worries.  There has not been anything that we haven't felt comfortable sharing and helping each other through, big or small.  

One of the hardest things for us, as sisters, was my move to Cincinnati.  I was so used to just being able to stop over and sit at her kitchen counter as we chatted about our daily happenings.  With almost six hours spanned between us, this was very difficult.  We exchanged phone calls and texts.  It just wasn't the same and it made me very sad every time I thought of it.  It was not until recently, that we met for coffee and she admitted to me that me being away was harder than she had led on to me.  She confessed that she never told me this before because she knew that I was happy.  Being able to read my blog is what helped her feel comfort in knowing that I was okay.  My eyes fill with tears when I sit back and think about this. She was more concerned with my happiness than worrying about upsetting me by sharing how much she missed me being close by. Another point proven.  She is absolutely selfless.  

Now, don't get me wrong, we are not always all sappy and mushy gushy.  We know how to  have a good time too!  There is nothing I love more than when we can hang out and laugh about silly or stupid things we have done or memories that we keep close to the surface because they bring such happiness or laughter.  Once in awhile we will go out for Mexican food and share a margarita together and the laughter seems to just come bounding out of our souls.  We always hang out together for holidays, and share special traditions.  We make pies with the girls in the family, for Thanksgiving, she has a super fun Christmas party each year, that I must keep my record for being the last to leave, we spend every fourth of July together sitting by her pool, going to fireworks, or like this year, watching them on TV.  Of course we sat and laughed about the fact that we were watching them on TV rather than fighting the crowds, and how we must be getting old. We have shared many vacations to Disney World together, trips to pumpkin patches and apple orchards, even simple trips to the grocery store. This list goes on and this just barely scratches the surface of all that we share together. 

Being "I LOVE MY SISTER" week, I leave you with this, courtesy of Facebook...

I have a sister who has made me laugh, wiped my tears, hugged me tight, watched me succeed, saw me fail, cheered me on and kept me strong. Sisters are a promise that we will have a friend forever.

Today, I am thankful for my sister and best friend.  I love you so very much, Suzy.  I am not just thankful for you today, but for each day that has passed and every day that lies ahead of us.