I'm so lucky.

I have a sister. She is my only sister and the only real complaint that I have about her is that she's seven years younger than me. I really think that my mother and father should have made more of an effort to put LESS space between us, but that's kind of water under the bridge now. They waited for me to ask them for a sister before they made one for me. Then she appeared, out of nowhere. Imagine.
Everything was fine until I hit... oh, about 50. Before middle age ( Yes, I might live to be 100 the way things are going.) I kind of had the upper hand with Sis. She was my "little" sister and she was quite helpful when she wasn't being a nuisance and telling Mom that I did something that I didn't.
Most of the time she looked up to me. It was a good arrangement.
Somewhere around that half way point, she started changing. Kind of like her front porch on Halloween night
She went from this...

To this...

She toughened up. She, somehow, became an equal. She grew up.  I couldn't kick her, under the table, anymore. ( She knows what I mean by this.)
I'm not sure what happen, but we've kind of had a role reversal. Now, she is the "older", saner, introspective person who makes me look at things with a more rounded perspective.
I, on the other hand, have gotten more opinionated, grumpy and I tend to let my inner Sagittarius come out... way too often.
My sister is a kind, liberal minded (and I mean this in a good way) person who loves me and puts up with my conservative attitudes, my cowgirl shirts and my inability to understand a situation when I think I have the answer. She has become this tolerant person who accepts the fact that people are sometimes crazy and you can still love them.

When I call and say that I'm coming down to visit, (That includes Sis and her family, my sons, my Beans and anyone else I happen to visit while I'm there.) I always get a "Wonderful... when?" I have a place to stay, a comfortable bed, a private bathroom (that's huge.) and special little things that she leaves on the dresser, like pictures of the Beans, two little Corgi statues and a wonderful new magazine... or some flowers. She includes me for dinner as if I was just part of the family... as if I'm always there. He hubs and her youngest son, Ben, are always glad to see me too. They are comfortable with my being there and even though I come and go a lot, I always find a warm reception when I return.

This post is just to say Thank you, Sis. I'm so lucky to have a sister like you and your generosity has not gone unnoticed... even when you make your point about something I don't want to hear... even when you stand in from of me and ask me if I cut my own hair again... and even when you go on a diet and lose more weight than me. I love you.
Thanks for the Persimmons.

From that beautiful Persimmon tree.

Thank you for being such a good mother. I don't think you give yourself enough credit.
Thanks for helping me and being there, when the sadness was overwhelming, and we lost the two most important people in our lives. Mom and Dad would be so proud of us. They always were.
Thank you for trying to understand why I have a hard time committing to other human beings. You've made me more aware of why I seem to let go of some people so easily and why I feel so trapped other times.
And, finally, for being the best shoe shopping, Ikea hopping, vegetable wrap at McDonald's, driving Ms, Daisy, Sister anyone could ever have.
I may have had to plead with mom and dad when I was seven... and there were moments when I wanted to send you back... but, all in all, it was, and is, a wonderful thing. I'm glad they "brought you forth". I'm glad that you are here and that I have an "older" sister to keep me in line... oh, wait... I'm the older sister. That's right.
I love you, sis.