Things I've Learned From My Sister

This is me with my sister, Tammy. For some reason today I have been thinking about life as a whole. I often wonder to myself is anyone in this world sincerely happy. I think most people are content. I am not sure what I am exactly right now. Overall, I think I am happy and can go up to bat against whatever life has to throw at me. But like anyone, I get tired and this is when I rely on my my friends but most of all my sister.

Now that I think about it, this line of thinking started last Saturday night. My sister-in-law and I went out for a "break" at our favorite pub. While sitting outside on the patio there, I overheard a conversation between two girls and a guy. I happen to know one of the girls so it wasn't terribly impolite for me to interject into their chit-chat. (Okay it was rude of me but honestly I couldn't make myself stop!) The guy was rambling on and on about how no woman of his (Because as you know women are property) was going to sit her ass at home with or without kids. WOW! Now, as a domestic goddess you can see how this really irked me. I simply asked, "How old are you exactly?" His reply, "22". I should have stopped right there....taking tiny little steps backwards begging forgiveness for interrupting their conversation. However, if you know me, you know this isn't generally an option for me. I politely argued with him about how kids need their parents. Truthfully, I don't care if parents choose to work or stay at home with their kids (I did when I was younger, but more on this later). There are definitely circumstances that don't allow the luxury of staying home with one's children - though I would argue it's a luxury at times! Some people simply can't afford it and some simply don't want to and that is A-OKAY with me...NOW. What I now realize I wanted was to get through to him that until he was in that position he had no idea what the hello kitty he was talking about. My point and I do have one is this, I have learned a lot of things from my sister about life.

For those of you who don't know, I am the baby in my family. I am 11 and 10 years younger than my siblings. This has proven to have great benefits as well as some pitfalls. Right now we are focusing on the benefits. One of the things I learned early on is that my sister begged for me. All she wanted was a baby sister and thank goodness my parents provided a sister. My name would have been Russell if I were boy! Thank God for small miracles! Can I get an AMEN? Anyway, she loved me from the start and was always doing things for me. My brother on the other hand, not so happy to have a little sister. I suspect this because he tortured me as a child. Although it didn't stop with me, he tortures all of the kids in our family hence his name, Uncle Meanie. If the shoe fits!?!?!?!

I think we all know the term "Live and Learn".....in my case, I almost always have a head's up about how to get ahead of the learning curve. This is not to say that I make the right choices despite my inside information or that there aren't glitches in the system. For instance, when I was a teenager, it took me a while to realize that if your sister wears the same size as you, your clothes are not safe in your closet when you are at school! And despite the fact that your sister is older than you, sometimes the information isn't realized by her until its too late. In that case, a Mom comes in on a white horse you want to shoot because you, of course, know better than your Mother! Another for instance, when I was 19 years old I became engaged to my now husband. I was madly in love after all and could not hear a word my Mother said to me, which was this; YOU ARE TOOOOOOOO YOUNG TO GET MARRIED! My Mom was 17 when she got married, turned 18 a week later and had a baby nine months later. Hindsight is 20/20 people! Clearly, my Mom was giving me great advice and I couldn't hear it. My sister was barely in her 30's and obviously this was a time where there was a glitch in the system. In my defense, my 19 year old decision to get married at 20 has worked for 17 years but marriage isn't easy. Despite the glitch, it's at least something my sister and I can bond and laugh over because she too stupidly got married at 20 years old. I don't think either of us regret getting married to our husbands, we just wish were like 30 something when we did it.

My sister has given me great advice about things never to say. Such as, "My kid would NEVER do that!". Riiiiiight, they will do the very thing you said they would never do, right in front of whomever you told said it to. With my kids I probably would have figured this out sooner rather than later because my kids antics never cease to amaze me. However, it is great advice and I am very careful about the way I word it when I have "moments"....it goes something like this, "If my kid ever does something like that -fill in the blank-".

Tammy alerted me to a lot of things I would go through, experience and do. All to which I replied, "I will never do that". I hate to admit it but she has been right about 98% of it thus far. I can't tell you how many times I have had to tell her she was right. It's not even painful to do so anymore because I know that she is telling me out of love. She told me my 30's would be the best time of my life and though I have nothing to compare it to right now, I am sure she is telling me the truth. Although, our Mother said 50 was fabulous but I suspect that's because I moved out 2 days before she turned 50!

I try to share what I learn from Tammy with my friends. Sometimes my friends just look at me like I am crazy but in the end they are always thankful that I had the inside information.

On another note, my brother will be covered on another day under the Title: I didn't want to do it!

My day today was pretty uneventful. I got new brakes installed professionally! I know you are asking why did she say professionally and here is the answer. In my entire driving life the only people who have ever put brakes on any of my vehicles has been Dad or brother. Get this, I didn't know that brakes weren't suppose to squeak after they were installed!!!!!

The kids only texted and/or called me 500 times while I was gone. Olivia was rotten for the twins and I had to send Aunt Natalie over to set her straight. I am so not loving 5 - WOW! Sarah's imaginary pink pet dinosaur has multiplied into two and she says she can do magic. I asked her if she could use her magic to make our house clean and she looked at me like I was an idiot.

Sincerely,
The Queen Of Insanity