My little sister, Teresa. I gave her the name Sissy, but rarely ever called her that. Seemed everyone else called her Sis or Sissy; Papa, Lynn, Kim, Paula, aunts, uncles, cousins, inlaws & outlaws even nieces and nephews called her Aunt Sissy-- everybody did. She was their Sis, their Sissy too. I loved her infectious smile and her mischievous deeds-some known publicly, most known only between us. We loved, we laughed, we fought hard and clawed even harder and carried the emotional battle scars with us-airbrushed enough as just to show a little to the world but not too much to let the other sister know just how deep the cut really was. We judged each other hard and others judged us just as hard, if not harder. We would go months without saying a word between us and then cry our eyes out when we got back together. We rode the waves of ups and downs many, Many times in our proudly-dysfunctional-as-hell relationship as best as we knew how. We were sisters. We will always have a bond. The bond is not broken by death. It is a relationship not understood by man (any man or woman) or science. Too many have tried and failed-just look at how many books have been written trying to give insight into unlocking the secret. Life, here on earth, will not be near as exciting, not nearly as chaotic, without her being here to complain to, to complain about, to see her latest antique find or themed Christmas tree, to forgive and ask forgiveness from. Some years back, she told me that when we both got old and outlived the current men in our lives we would get a little granny house together and sit on the front porch and talk about all the crap we put each other through. I'm the big sister and I'm supposed to have the last word. She didn't keep her word, so when I get to heaven she and I are gonna finish this conversation. Forever and always, she will always be... my little sister.π
I am going to miss my little sister. Remembering her smile, her laugh and her antics will help me through this most difficult time of saying goodbye. But, I am blessed to have my memories to keep her alive in my heart. Thank goodness she took lots of pictures! We might have complained posing for them, especially at the holidays, but boy am I glad to be able to have them now to look back on the memories that were made. Love to you always -my little sister π, Sandee