Who knew???

Not me.  I didn't know that Tuesday April 10 was National Siblings Day.  Now that I know...

I'd like to take a moment to introduce you to my two (and a half!) wonderful siblings.

P

The older of my 2 younger sisters is about 5 years younger than me but about 25 years more active!   She hikes, she walks, she does yoga and other exercises at home.  She's also still wearing the same size she was wearing years ago, 8/10, or medium - which is officially 1/2 as large as my 14/16, or large/extra large. 

Her hair is curly from the root to the tip, and as you know, the grass is always greener:  I want her curly hair and she's always telling me I wouldn't want it if I had it! 

She is a scientist, probably one of the two smartest people I know in this world, and probably the ONLY one I can say went to school straight through to her PhD and got a job in her field and stayed in her field to this day! 

One of my favorite childhood memories of her was the day my parents brought her home from the hospital.  It's such a vivid memory.  My mom has a metal serving cart that happened to be outside the side door that day, with a yellow cotton skirt covering the lower shelves.  I was in the kitchen and could see them carry her in the side door.  It was a beautiful June day, warm and so very sunny, and my baby sister had curly red hair!!!  (It's not red anymore, but it sure was the day she came home, especially in that sunlight!) 

She has had a grand total of 5 cats and 3 dogs over the years (and there are still 2 dogs and 2 cats in her family today!).  [Correct me if I missed a cat here or there, P!]  She has the biggest heart I know and actually rescued her most recent cat from the jaws of a dog, at great potential risk to her own self! 

She has traveled quite a bit, both in Central America and in Europe.  She spent a semester in Cambridge University.  That's right, in England.  (Told you she was smart!) 

She cooks really healthy food for herself (yet another way we have nothing in common) and at the complete, far opposite side of the food spectrum, actually LIKES tofu.  (Don't even TRY the ole "it takes on the taste of whatever you cook it with" 'cause I've tried it and I DON'T like it!) 

She has a memory like an elephant, never forgets a thing!  She is the best of all of us at remembering to send cards for holidays and birthdays, but I feel so much better that this year, she had to email my hubby for his birthday - time got away from her and she forgot to send a card.  She's human!!!  Yay!!! 

I'm so very proud of her and I love her so very much.

C

C is my baby sister and will always be my "baby" sister.  In fact, whenever anyone asks me how old she is, I have to do the math.  It's IMPOSSIBLE that my baby sister could be "that old."  (Don't take that the wrong way, C!)

When I think of my earliest memories of her, they include not really seeing her when she came home from the hospital because she was a preemie and they had to keep her away from her germy older sisters until she was strong enough.  So we had long, heavy, floor to ceiling drapes covering the doorways to keep us (and our germs) away from her. 

And another one of those vivid, Polaroid moments is her platinum blonde, pageboy haircut.  She had Marilyn Monroe blonde hair!!!  She doesn't have that hair color anymore either, but she had beautiful silky, thick medium brown hair.  The grass is always greener, remember? 

She is smart as a whip, too, but has the added bonus of being an artist, too.  She has created some beautiful canvases, and there are two that especially stand out:  one of our childhood dog, and another of Jesus.  She was offered a gallery show but that never happened.  I really wish she'd take up her brushes again:  [HEY, C - I'm trying all sorts of art journaling myself.  Why not come up to the lake one day with me and E and we can art together!!!] 

She had my nephew in 1990 and my niece in 1992 and they are the two best gifts I've ever gotten.  I love them so much, and they just wouldn't be the gorgeous, smart 20-somethings they are today without their mom. 

She did some freelance work for my company many years ago and then came on board as an in-house employee.  Those were my favorite work years, actually spending time with her every day.  I never felt closer to her.  I look back at those days so fondly, wishing we were STILL working together. 

She went through a painful divorce and I hope I was there for her like I wanted to be.  She is in a relationship now and if she's happy, I'm happy!  I like T and they bought a beautiful home a couple of years ago - I'm happy for her. 

I'm so very proud of her and I love her so very much.

R

R is actually my cousin but we grew up so close that I try to find cousin/brother cards for him for each holiday.  Not surprisingly there aren't a lot of cards with a sentiment that reads, "Thanks for being the best cousin/almost-brother on earth!"  He is fodder for a lot of stories, though, as evidenced here...

His mom and my mom were sisters (2 of 3, just like me and mine!) and my Cioci E and my Babci came over almost every night during the week to have tea with mom, and R would always tag along.  I remember so clearly having to go to bed at 8:30/9:00pm but HE could watch Family on TV, or Starsky and Hutch.  That wasn't right - he was YOUNGER than me!  Why was HE allowed???

My strongest visual memory of him?  Platinum blonde surfer hair, and a week or two at his Seaside Heights beach house every summer.  (Loved his outside shower!)  There was the day he decided we should cross the street and swing on the swing on his neighbor's front lawn.  We heard our moms calling us for lunch (soup, I believe) and ran across the street.  We got caught.  Our punishment for crossing the street alone at 6 years old?  Kneeling on dried beans in the corner behind the front door and getting spanked with my aunt's black patent leather belt.  I don't think I crossed the street alone again until I was 16!

Then there's my 8th grade birthday, when we were waiting for him and my aunt and my grandmother to come over for birthday cake, and they never showed up 'cause he had to go and break his leg playing basketball.  His timing sucked. 

He was a sleepwalker.  We were at the beach and he woke up out of a sound sleep, picked up a baseball bat and headed for the back door.  He peeked out the door, saw all was well, went back to his room, put down the bat and hopped back into bed to sleep the rest of the night away. 

And my scar...  Dad left for work and told us not to go into the garage.  R had to go into the garage.  So I followed him in, kicked him out, and slammed the door, staying on the inside.  He stood outside the door, mugging for the cameras (!), and I got mad and punched him in the face.  Through the glass window.  I can still remember him running into the house, crying that a couple measly pieces of glass hit him in the face and "Krys punched me through the window!"  (You little crybaby, you!)  I was dripping blood behind him and wound up with 6 stitches and a scar on my right hand, but all you'll ever hear from him is that the nurses had to use tape to pull the glass out of his forehead and it hurt...  Waa, waa, waa.  He got a lollipop, and me, the girl with stitches, didn't. 

He dated a girl named P who I REALLY didn't like; she was a drinker and turned him into a drinker, too.  My favorite memory was the day he told me they broke up and I said, "Good, now I can tell you I never liked her." 

He married M and they've given me another smart, beautiful/handsome niece and nephew.  Love you guys, too!

Happy Siblings Day to my sisters and my "cousin/brother"!!  I love you all!!!