Dear Vanessa,
For the better part of my life, I have taken some sort of pride in being the youngest of eleven grandchildren and being the only girl on one side of my family. There was a comfort in the fact that I had ten older brothers to watch over me. I accepted that I would never know what it was like to have a sister at a very young age, but when I read lists about what it's like growing up with an older sister, I can't help but relate to a large portion of what they describe. It seems impossible that I could understand a concept that I had previously thought was completely foreign to me. But if I think back on each experience that I relate with, I am welcomed by the thought that they all have one thing in common: you.
My earliest memories of you are unclear images of playing house and being angry when you didn't want to play with me. I can remember beginning to look up to you and spending most of my days at your house, listening to you talk about anything and everything. And even if I cannot remember this, there is the memory of you teaching me to walk. I'm going to take this opportunity to be really cheesy and say that when you taught me to walk you not only taught me to keep myself balanced enough to use my feet to travel, but to keep myself balanced enough to know where I wanted to go and how to get there in the best way. And just how you probably had to support me at first, you continue to support me in whatever endeavor I choose to take.
My favorite memories of you is the summer we spent watching Law and Order in your bed and avoiding the heat. I think it is safe to say that a bond was formed in those months, between me and Joshua, but also between you and I. A bond that had been forming since I was born, but evolved as your son recognized my voice when he was born, when you told my mom about the bullying in middle school even after I asked you not to (I only slightly mad at you still), and when we hugged at my quince, ruining my make up with tears. I know that I can call you whenever I need someone to talk to or a shoulder to cry on and I hope you know that I am also here for you.
We may not be actual sisters, but I think a stranger on the street wouldn't be able to tell the difference between us and actual siblings. Thank you for always believing in me and for supporting me even when I didn't know I needed support, I don't think you'll ever know just how much my life has been impacted by you. Who knows who I would be without you but I'm glad I don't have to find out. Out of all the people in the world to have the key to my figurative heart and know everything about me, I'm forever grateful to know that it's you.
