I May be Belated but She's Still 33 Years of Fabulous!

Luckily, my sister Jessica is a very patient girl. Sorry I'm so crazy late!

I have so many memories of my last 30 years (her 33) with my older sister Jessica. She was the ultimate in childhood playmates. Flying kites, playing hide-n-seek in the corn, trying to trek to the "monster tree" at the other end of the neighbors field, playing in the woods, fun with Barbies (along with our Strawberry Shortcakes and Michael Jackson dolls), and coloring the drywall in our colorful playroom... and so many more tales that I could probably write hundreds of blog posts on!

Shockingly, I actually don't remember us fighting too much at all as kids. We had to be united in the middle of nowhere USA. And she was so patient with my shadowing her every step.

Then we entered the teenage years and, in high school, she flourished. She was the most talented in chorus, she loved playing tennis, and she got great grades. Guess what I did in high school... exactly the same damn things! I guess I continued to shadow her. What can I say? She inspired me to achieve what she had and I know I may not have set my goals so high if she hadn't paved the way.

Additionally, even as a young child, she had such an infatuation with reading and writing. That was the one area where, although I was always pretty good with those same disciplines, I did not want to shadow her. I knew her talents weren't something you could easily learn or try really hard to achieve... not that she didn't work her ass off through high school and college and beyond of course... but it came so naturally and brilliant to her that I had to watch at a distance in awe.

And now so many years later, she is a very talented writer in DC surviving in a field (newspaper journalism) that is sadly a dying industry. And although obviously the future is rocky, she perseveres where many have not.

She is married to an incredible man who is such a great addition to our wacky family (happy belated to you too Bill). As soon as I met him I knew he was the one. We met at a New Years party and bonded over magnetic poetry (which just got more and more interesting as the alcohol flowed). He was a riot and just as hilarious and fun as Jessica. And even more importantly, she adored him and he was able to recognize the many amazing characterics that I also adore her for. Its gotta be so tough for any man to compete with the bond between my sisters and I, not to mention simply keep up with Jessica's wit and sass, but Bill has proved he can handle all three of us (unless we're wielding paintball guns).

Lastly, she's additionally an inspiration as a mother. I obviously had a great one as my own inspiration, and Jessica reinforces it. Her personality throughout her life has been one of watchfulness and mothering both to myself and to our younger sister. So to be the mom of her two incredible children, let alone a phenomenal one at that, is not a stretch of the imagination nor a surprise. Even more amazing, is that at merely 4, her daughter Madeline reminds me SO much of Jessica. The way Madeline takes care of her younger brother Eli, is so Jessica as a big sister to me. Maddy will be a great mother, an amazing sister, a gorgeous sassy wit, and a smart and talented whatever-she-decides-to-be-someday.

Happy belated birthday, Jessica. I love you and I'm still inspired by you to this day.