Sisters

 

Yep, that is my sister Kris and little old me over forty years ago.

My sister…whew wee…she has stood by me through thick and thin.

She knows me.

She knows my kids.

And she would jump off a high mountain or swim across a deep ocean if that is what it would take to help any of us.

I love my sister.

She is the one who still cannot really talk about November 14, 2004 because it is simply too painful.

Just a few days before the accident, she had been watching Alex, Aaron, and Grace while I was giving birth to Ryan. Yep…the trio.

I will not say much more about that day because I hope she reads this someday. I simply want her to know how much I appreciate that we are sisters.

Yesterday I called her crying. (Not exactly unusual.)

More than once, my sister has answered the phone when I simply needed a shoulder to cry on.

My dear mom has been gone for over eleven years now, so my sister is often the one I call.

She is also the same sister I used to hide behind when I was a little girl. I was her shadow.

Now, when she tells me how strong I am, I quickly remind her that it is God, because she more than anyone knows how shy and timid I used to be.

Well, yesterday I was crying for my Alex.

He needs an outfit for a school dance, and finding clothes for Alex can be really tricky. I took him shopping twice, wore him out completely, and we still could not find anything.

I could see the disappointment on his face and hear it in his voice.

My son does not have a sense of entitlement. He asks for very little and expects very little. But yesterday he really hoped to find a special outfit for his school dance.

So I called the one person I knew would immediately launch herself into action.

I called Aunt Kris.

I told Alex that Aunt Kris was going to look for an outfit, to which Kris quickly replied:

“Oh no…I am on a mission to FIND an outfit.”

The next morning I woke up to texts from Kris outlining her plans for “Operation Find Alex an Outfit.”

Later in the day, pictures of different outfit options started coming through my phone.

You see, Kris has learned how to use technology to bring me into the moment with her — whether she is shopping or attending one of her daughter’s band competitions. One time she even called me and held up the phone so I could listen to the band perform an entire song. It was so cool.

Kris, even though you neither ask for recognition nor expect it, thank you.

And did I mention that my sister lives an hour away from me?

Love serves.

Love gives.

Thank you, sister.

I love you.