Memories

DO you have stupid, irelevant memories of moments that should really be insignificant?  I know that I do.  For instance I have a memory of spending three hours on the floor in the living room of my parent’s home while my sister tried to teach me to roll my R’s.  By the time my mother got home we were laughing so hard that our sides hurt, but we couldn’t explain for the life of us what was so funny.  I still can’t, but just thinking of it makes me smile.

I remember one year our parents left us at home alone while they took a trip to somewhere for something.  While I was getting ready for school one morning, I heard my sister screaming like a terrified wild animal at the base of the stairs, and went tearing down to find out what the heck was going on.  She grinned and said “April Fool.”

“Don’t do that to me!”  I yelled at her.  “I thought a satanist had left a goat’s head on our front stairs!”

She dissolved into laughter and fell on the floor, managing to gasp out “Oh yeah, that’s the first thing that would have crossed my mind.”  She was still laughing about it days later.  In fact, I think she’s laughing right now.

I remember hearing my sister calling my name one evening as I was lying in bed.  I got up and padded across the carpeted hall in my bare feet.  I opened her door to see her lying in bed.  She grinned and said “Seeing as you’re here, will you turn off my light?”  I am ashamed to admit that this worked more than once on me.  A lot more.

I remember taking hours to wash the dishes, and taking hours to walk home from school.  I remember tobagganing behind the Buhler’s house and shopping in Smithers.  My sister is there in all of those memories.

We’re only 17 months apart (I’m older, just so there’s no confusion) and did so many things together.  We were often in Sunday School classes together, every second year we were in classes together in our small Christian school, we had the same friends, and so attended the same birthday parties.  We were together so often that new people got our names confused.  We fought with all the fervor and violence that two strong headed girls can employ, and we were so very different in so many things; but when I think about the best times of my life, my sister is in almost all of them.

I’m proud to admit that she’s now my best friend.  If I had the choice to spend an evening with any celebrity or my sister it wouldn’t even be a choice, I’d pick my sister.  We could still spend three hours doing something stupid like trying to roll our R’s.   Although we’d be interrupted by our children, we’d still end up laughing until tears poured down our cheeks.  She’s the only person I call just to chat, and we often chat for more than an hour, covering everything from doctrine to diapers to digital photography.

It’s her birthday today, and I can’t be with her, so I thought I’d bring her into my bloggy world and it can be another memory we can have together.  Happy Birthday Melissa.  I love you.