Dear sister,

I know I don't tell you this much, but I do miss you. More than I thought I would and probably more than I admit to myself even now. Now with that being said, I don't miss the all the fighting we used to do and if I could go back I'd try to stop being so antagonistic. I should have enjoyed the time we had together more before I left but, hindsight is twenty/twenty I guess. It's kind of funny how I never realized how much time I spent with you until I moved hundreds of miles away from you and wasn't able to see you every day. So this one's for you little sis; hopefully, it makes up for all those times I picked on you.

One of the things I realized I missed the most was going to your soccer games, surprisingly I missed going to your swim meets too. I wish I would have taken the time to enjoy them more when I still could but, I cherish the memories I do have of you playing. I remember laughing with Mom and Dad every time you'd knock a girl down to get a ball and I know I certainly would never want to be on the receiving end of one of your hits. You were and are by the far the tougher more aggressive one out of us two, which I'm okay with because I'm by far the better-looking sibling. Now, of course, I never told you I was proud of you back then but, I'm not afraid to tell you that I admire you as an athlete. You were always more talented than I was and I enjoyed watching you succeed.

I always knew that if I needed someone to tag along with me or someone to do something with you would be there for me. Whether it was going to Barnes and Noble or taking an adventure out to the supermarket because I needed to pick up milk for mom. You were always my go-to travel companion, even though your taste in music needs some work before I ever let you touch the radio in my car. I miss those car rides even though we never really said much. Just knowing you were there was good enough for me.

So sadly, last time we tried to have a Netflix binge session I fell asleep. I swear college has aged me by at least 40 years. Anyway, I do miss watching TV with you, as simple as that sounds. If it wasn't for you I would never have been exposed to Friends, Grey's Anatomy, or One Tree Hill which would be a complete travesty. Now I don't miss rewatching Friends episodes a billion and a half times but, all things considered, you always picked shows that we both enjoyed. Next time I'm home we have to finish watching Parks and Rec.

Last and but not least, I miss being able to do things like mud races with you. When we raced together I knew that no matter how we placed relative to those other people around didn't matter. The real competition was between me and you. I miss trash talking with you and laughing whenever one of us failed epically at an obstacle. Sadly, I usually got laughed at a little bit more than you but that's life sometimes. Either way, the races were always fun because we got to spend time with one another and we got to laugh with one another. I still vividly remember you hitting me in the head with a punching bag "accidently" mid-race by the way. Payback is coming, I hope you're ready for it.

I miss you, even though I'll never actually tell you that.

Love your brother in denial,

Derek