Happy Birthday to my Little Sister

Yes we grew up in a different generation. She was my Christmas baby sister. I was raised by a single mother until I was ten and she then got married and had a baby boy. I instantly became a sibling and a excited secondary mom and then 21 months later we added a little sister. This baby was special, she was born on Christmas day. Did you realize Christmas day is one of the rarest days to be born? Therefore it makes it double special! So as a child or tween as I almost was …. that morning waking up under our tree were not packages from Santa but a relative in our living room as we anxiously awaited the news if it were a girl or a boy that our mother was having. Santa brought me a sister that I dreamed of.

Growing up seeing my friends who had sisters, they always had someone to play with, hang with, share clothes with, etc…I saw that when I heard sister. Not realizing that there would be such an age gap that our relationship would develop to be more of a parent relationship than that of a sibling.

I recall being able to go to the hospital to meet her, seeing her tiny little fingers and toes. Saying goodbye for the day through the thick window at the hospital nursery waiting for them to come home. They kept mom and baby for three days back then at the hospital. She arrived to our small apartment and the fun began. I had a baby sister! She was my live baby doll…although having a brother who was not even in his terrible twos became my job…to assure that he was cared for as our mother bonded with her baby girl.

As I look back I am blessed with memories of being the older sibling. I have memories of them both as babies, their first steps, their first tooth, their sweet sayings, and their innocence. I was able to help them grow. To teach them things as we played on the floor. To pick them up from daycare and have them run to me with glee, so I could take them home as we waited for our parents to get home from work. Having younger siblings ignited the mother within me early. They both taught me the art of true love.

As I turned 17 I joined the Army after graduation and off I went to bootcamp. This day was hard as it meant not only leaving my parents, friends but also my babies. I was leaving and they were just starting elementary school. We did not have Skype or cell phones and to call home cost money that I did not have. Written letters were our means of communication over the years….which I became that girl that showed up on holidays and had several artsy colored coloring book prints that reminded me of their growing years.

Being that older sibling made me responsible at an early age. Sure there are things I may have missed out on as a teen but there are way too many things that I gained. I was fortunate enough to be settled in an apartment when I was stationed in Hawaii and our mother trusted me to have my little sister who was turning ten come stay with me for six weeks. Those days and memories of taking her to the Hawaiian beaches, setting up day camps for her while I worked, caring for her, loving her, buying her things she wanted will always be cherished. To this day, I would give the world to her if I could.

We grew up in completely different generations and worlds it seems. I now learn from her as she makes the world look a bit different. It has taken over forty years to move from that mother-daughter role in my mind to my friend. I wish it would have happened a lot sooner than it did. I love you with all my heart. May your birthday bless you as much as you have blessed us as a family.