Tuesday, June 28, 2005

Baby sister


I am so glad I have a sister. Today was one of those days where I was just cranky and tired and I had an "upset hangover" where I was still feeling upset about something I'd gotten upset about last night and didn't get enough validation from my husband to satisfy me.

My sister and I had been playing phone tag all weekend, after she called me on Friday to say thanks for her birthday gift, so I called her up this afternoon at work and we had a nice long chat, with the sound of my niece and nephew playing outside in the background.

I am not a phone talker; I just don't gravitate toward the phone like most people do, and I think it's detrimental to my relationships. Especially with my sister, because I just don't think to call her as often as I should. And then once every three or four months, we'll have this good conversation, and I think, why don't I call her more often? Duh.

My sister Jenita is almost six years younger than I am, and she just celebrated her 29th birthday on Saturday. We have never had much in common...different interests, different lifestyles, and the age difference is combined with a personality difference, so for much of our growing up years, it was hard for us to relate to each other.

But the thing about a sibling, at least in my experience, is that somehow you always talk the same language, no matter how far apart you are. I hear my mother in my sister's voice, and I'm sure she hears that in my voice, too. And Jenita was just the person I needed to talk to about my upset hangover, because she could understand what I was saying and make the comforting noises back that moms and sisters and good female friends are so talented at making, and that husbands are so often lousy at, LOL. Most of the time when I'm upset, all I'm looking for is for someone to say, "Yes, I understand...that does really suck."

I love my sister.