Dear Sissy,

You've been a blessing in my life for the last 20 (almost 21) years that I've been on this Earth, and if you look at it from my stand point I have known and loved you my entire life. That's an entire lifetime of hugs, kisses, laughter, inside jokes, memories, adventures, and basically an entire lifetime of you spoiling me beyond measure. Ever since I was toddler you took care of me as if i were your daughter instead of Mom's. Yes, there was that one time you tried to choke me with an air head, and that one time you fed me fish food, and there have been plenty of arguments since then, but you've always put your life on hold for me and spent what ever dollar amount you had to to make me happy.

And as time has continued to pass our hearts have only grown closer. Through the ups and downs of life, we've come to understand what it truly means to have each other. Even if we talk every day or not so often, it doesn't seem to matter because I know you are always there. After all, you're the one I go to for honest advice and genuine support. You're the one who accepts my quirky little habits and understands me in a way few others can. You're the one I can call at any hour to laugh, or cry, or complain... the voice that's been there all along, sharing secrets and dreams. You can read my mind and hear my heart. You're my lifelong friend but so much more.

We have played hide-n-seek, enjoyed blue inflatable furniture, had mud fights in the back yard, meet-n-greets on the stairs, and have upheld our tradition of shopping/dinner/movie dates and watching "How The Grinch Stole Christmas" every Christmas Eve as we fall asleep. You have seen me grow up, graduate high school, become your sorority sister. You have seen me struggle to see as salt water splashed in my eyes from a cracked fish tank while we were home alone and have seen me run into walls at 8 in the morning (which you like to remind me of constantly). You have been there for me through every adventure and you support me so much so you have egged someones house for me and then didn't confess because you didn't want me to "know too much."

The definition of sister is technically a female sibling sharing the same parents with another sibling, but you are so much more than just a sibling to me. You are a forever friend. A best friend at that. You are someone that I can only get mad at for a short period of time because 1. you know too much and 2. I have important stuff to tell you. You are my mirror, at a witness who sees me at my worst and my best but loves me either way, my partner in crime, my midnight companion, and someone who knows when i'm smiling or when i'm hurting even in the dark. You were the best friend and the best sister I could have ever been blessed with, and God knew exactly what he was doing when he gave us each other.

Without you, this world would be unlivable. Not just for me, but for anyone whose path has ever crossed yours. You bring so much light to a world full of darkness. You're heart is so big and I feel thankful that I have a place in it. I don't know what I did to deserve you and all you have ever done for me, but there are no words to express the appreciation I have for you and for all the things you bring to my life. I know you may not always feel like you are appreciated in the way you should be, but trust me when I say I want to give you everything you have ever given me and so much more because you deserve that more than anyone else on this Earth.

There's a poem by Patsy Gaut which describes my relationship with you perfectly. It goes: "my little eyes are watching all you say and do, and when I grow up big and tall I want to be like you. My little ears are listening to everything you say, I am learning how to grow up to be like you someday. So be careful how you teach me to be the person that you are. You are the best friend that I could have; you're my brightest shining star". I have always looked up to you and you've always been the person I have aimed to be. You have always given me the greatest role model...well, there are a few exceptions. Like the numerous times you would make me cover for you when you would sneak out. Or when I had to carry you to dinner with Mammaw And Pappaw when you got drunk in Cabo (what, you were 16?). But those bad examples have always made for great stories.

You have always believed in me when I didn't believe in myself and if anyone knows the "real" me, it's you. You have wiped away my tears and brought me endless smiles. You have given me the prime example of what a woman should be, and I aim to be the woman you have always seen in me. Thank you for being my forever friend, my role model, my papas fritas, and the greatest sister I have ever known and would ever want to know. I could never love anyone as much as I love you and you will always hold a special place in my heart. So for everything I have listed and all of the things I have forgotten to mention: Thank you.