My Sister

I really love my sister. Like a lot. I feel like it’s above average. I feel like I got really lucky. I mean, it took my sister awhile for us to overcome the age difference between us and become real friends. But in the past several years, we’ve just gotten closer and closer with each passing year. And now she really is my best friend. I know that she’ll be there for me for the rest of our lives – there’s no getting rid of each other, no worries about losing the friendship because we’re linked together by blood.
But because it took 20 or so years for us to get to this place, it makes me really grateful for our relationship and for her. I don’t take it for granted just because she’s my sister. She’s really smart (and not just in the intelligence department, I mean fashion-wise (I grew up with GREAT hand-me-downs!) and common sense-wise.) And as I grow older and find myself coming to more and more crossroads, making decisions about my “career,” relationships, and what’s really important to me, I find myself turning to her more and more. I am also realizing how much my sister has influenced my decision making to get me where I am today. I mean, she really has been a role model to me. And that’s why when I talk to other people about her, especially here in India, I always describe her as “a really good older sister.” (Sometimes “great” doesn’t translate.) My sister has saved my sanity and my quality of life many times. Following her advice has really enabled me to break out of a lot of bad habits and situations which were holding me back. And as a result, I trust her judgment a lot. I feel like everything will be ok because she will always have my back. And she will generally convince me to do what’s best for me even if I don’t want to. (A sign of a great lawyer!)
When I think about my future, I always think about where my sister is in her life. It makes me feel like I’m way too young to get married any time soon and that I don’t have to be rushed into going back to school. My sister is really young for her age. And I don’t mean that in a bad way. I’ve met some people who are really old at my sister’s age and I am SO happy that she is not like them. They’re tired and their spirits have the age of a really unhappy 60 or 70 year old. It’s exhausting and depressing to be around them.
I think the difference is that she’s not willing to compromise what makes her happy and what’s important to her. She doesn’t settle and she’s mature enough to know what she needs and what she wants. She knows how to have fun. We laugh a lot.
I just got off the phone with her and it just makes me feel so much better about my life. (I mean, my life’s not bad or anything. I don’t want to sound melodramatic. I’m in India, I know, but sometimes being in a foreign country isn’t as exciting as everyone thinks it is. The exotic becomes mundane fairly quickly. And I really miss the people I love. It doesn’t matter where I am, I’ve learned that if I’m not with the people I care about most, or can communicate with them easily, then I’m not completely happy. It sucks, really, but it’s reality.) I get a sense of peace from her. I just feel really honored and privileged to have a sister like her. I know that everyone is not as lucky as me and that some who have siblings like her don’t realize how lucky they are.
 I just felt the need to express my feelings to the world. And it’s like that country song “I Thought I Loved You Then.” I mean, how am I going to feel 30 years down the line if I love her this much now?
And she comes to visit me in almost a month so woohoo!! :o)