There are many people who grow up with siblings and never really give them the recognition they deserve. I am lucky enough to be one of those people who grew up with an older sister. Many people do not realize right away that I do have an older sister because we are eight years apart and do not necessarily look as much alike as some siblings do, but when you see us together you know we are sisters. Between the way we act, the way we talk and how we act together it is unmistakable that we are sisters and have a deep bond that can never be broken.
As Shay would say, I stole her play room when I was born and that was "the worst thing ever." In reality having her as my big sister has been the best thing I could have hoped for. With us being eight years apart we have not had the normal sibling relationship. There has not been the constant fights or the sibling rivalry like many families have, instead it has been us growing up in two different stages of life. While she was learning how to drive and having boyfriends I was going through school and just starting to figure out who I was. Having someone there who has been through it all and understands what I was going through was a huge help.
Even though we were both going through different stages of life we still had the same sisterly bond, if not a stronger one, that any other siblings would have. I can remember in elementary when she would come pick me up after school, all the times I got to go to work with her, the times we would go to the park, The Beach Waterpark and so many other adventures. I got to do some many things at a young age all because she was older than me and we had that time together. Even as we got older and she went off to college then moved out we spent time together painting the bedrooms in her new house, cooking meals for family dinner night and bonfires in the backyard. Now she has brought two amazing nephews into my life and a brother-in-law who has been family for awhile. This has brought us even closer.
Now I am the one away at college and she is home with her family, but we still get to have time together. Whether it is shopping trips on the weekends, me stopping by when I come home from school, dinner out with the whole family or me getting to have her boys for a night. Even though we have a slightly different relationship with our ages I could not ask for a better big sister. I have learned so much from her and have had such a great childhood with her as my big sister. Thank you Shay Bear! I love you!
