Happy Birthdays!!

Today marks the birthdays of two really special people in my life. First, my sister, who while we haven't always seen eye to eye, we are happy to be sisters! I can honestly say that my sister has made me a better person by expanding my thinking on just about every subject on all ends of the spectrum. Let me explain!

From the time we were little, my sister and I have been polar opposites on almost every single subject. It started in fashion, when she told me in high school that she would wear anything that I wouldn't wear. Since that time, it seems almost like a passion of hers to be different than me, and I can totally respect that. I've learned from her that there is more than one solution, that I'm not always right (that is a difficult one for me!) and being a marine biologist, she has displayed to me the importance of being a protector and good steward of the earth that God created.

As children, I think that S and I spent much of our time jousting over Barbies, friends, snacks, our little brother and oodles of other insignificant things. (OK, our brother was not insignificant!) We fought over having to sit in the middle in our station wagon, who got the good Big Wheel, who got the car.... it seemed never ending, but in the end, there really isn't anything I wouldn't do for my sister, no matter what our differences.

While in second grade, my sister contracted Reye's Syndrome and nearly died at Yale New Haven Hospital. Her speedy and miraculous recovery led to the discovery that she is officially a genius. All that cognitive and developmental testing revealed her intelligence that is often overlooked because of her idealistic and sometimes quirky independent streak! One time, having devised a way to sneak off with a much older friend (and her manager at Dominoes pizza) during college without being discovered to a Redskin's game, her roommate mistakenly presumed her a missing person. The campus and Virginia State police agreed and an APB was put out on her. To this day, we joke around with her that we were convinced we would someday see her face on a milk carton!

Now that we are both moms, things don't seem so black and white to us anymore. We have more in common, we see the world differently and while we've remained true to our individual beliefs, we are much more prone to see things similarly and highly respect each other's differing opinions. My sister is an amazing person, who juggles the demands of motherhood, being an overworked program director/kitchen supervisor/camp counselor at an aquarium, a wife and a devoted friend. She is intimidatingly smart, intensely frugal and an avid researcher of any topic she deems interesting, right now the new car she is going to buy herself.

While we occasionally still enter into jousting together, she never fails to put a smile on my face with her funny stories, her absolutely breathtakingly beautiful children, her simple faith in Christ and her love of the world. Today she is 35, and I'm so glad she's my sister.

Now, for number two - my good college friend, Eli. She probably thinks I've forgotten it's her birthday, but I haven't! If I could choose anyone at all to be my next door neighbor, it would be her. She is by far the one friend in my life that I had the most adventures with, laughed the most with and long to be near. We have grown apart in many ways, mostly distance, but whenever I see her it's like we were back at Gordon together yesterday!!

Her passion for ice hockey (stars), dogs (in large numbers), SCC (I'm still a little miffed she got to meet him and didn't invite me!) and our long lost home of Connecticut bonded us together. She introduced me to three of those four things, and for that I am truly grateful. Well, only for SCC!! LOL Really, though, she was the first person who expanded my boundries and helped me break out of my goodie two shoes mentality. Skipping class to head into Boston was honestly our favorite past time in college, along with crime scene investigation (I've fallen and I can't get up), Wheatables (which we would have bought in bulk if we could have!), mad crushes on men we would never actually meet in person but would happily stalk together and middle of the night trips to LL Bean just because it was the only thing open when we were the only ones awake!

Today, she's the same age as me. I always like it when friends catch up. I'd love to be kidnapping, blindfolding and dragging her out for a night on the town, but I'm afraid that it might scare her adorable little son and I'm not sure I'd make it home in time for work tomorrow, seeing as she lives several hours away from me - boohoo! Eli, when are you finally going to move here??

Happy Birthday, girls! You're both really important to me!