Sisters

I have two. I mean four. No, wait, seven. Rrrrr, make that nine. Maybe ten. I think that's right.

For most of my life I had two. Katelyn is my oldest sister who had to babysit me, put up with me making kissing noises when her dates dropped her off at the front door, and even had to take me on a date with her (anyone remember the movie "Chariots of Fire"?). I invaded her pool parties, was a bridesmaid in her wedding, and love being an aunt to her three boys. Kristin is our middle sister. I gave her the chicken pox when she came home for spring break from UF, bugged her friends, and made one of her boyfriends check under my bed for monsters. She helped me win a poster contest in 6th grade, covered for me the one time I got drunk and missed curfew in high school, and made me proud when she adopted my niece from China. They are so much more than that to me, but elaborating more would make this a really long post. We aren't the closest of sisters but we all know that we're there for each other if we are needed.

When I got married, I gained two more sisters, Cindy and Robin. Hubby and I had a whirlwind romance and married quickly but his sisters welcomed me into the family with open arms. Surprisingly, sixteen years later, they still like me! Cindy moved to North Carolina minutes away from us and would watch Kelly so Hubby and I could have date nights sometimes. I also stayed with her the last two weeks of my pregnancy with Jacob because there was too much snow for me to get to our house (we had to walk up the mountain). I was a bridesmaid in her wedding even though I turned her hair orange two days before (not my fault and she got it fixed), is a breast cancer survivor, and is the only one who cried the day Jacob was born. Robin gave me the most beautiful plaque one year that I still love. It says, "Sisters-in-law by marriage, sisters at heart." Her son, my nephew, was the ring bearer in our wedding and recently threw her and her husband a 25th anniversary surprise party which showed me how great of a mom she's been for him. Robin was the one person who made me laugh after Jacob's funeral, makes me laugh every time I see her, and is determined to get me on an airboat...soon! Again, there is so much more to these amazing sisters of mine.

Several years ago, I met a mom whose daughter, new to Kelly's school, was paired with Kelly because she was having trouble making friends. Nina and I quickly became friends, then best friends, then more like sisters. In the beginning, I had two kids and she had four. By the time I moved away, I had four and she had five. We'd go to the free movies during the summer and looked like a daycare! We talked every day, did things together all the time, even had Thanksgiving dinner together one year (boy was that a lot of food!). We were always there for each other and could share anything. Unfortunately, we've drifted apart being on opposite sides of the state, but she will always be in my heart.

Last year, I gained five more sisters. In finding my biological parents, I gained three half sisters, a sister-in-law, and a step-sister. I was a bridesmaid in Deidra’s wedding, was on speaker phone when she had her son, and fell instantly in love with her daughter the day we met. We spent our birthdays together last year at Busch Gardens (hers is the day before mine). I've already been asked by Janice to be a bridesmaid in her wedding, whenever it might be. Though timid at first, she's opened up to me and confided in me as any little sister would to her older sister (even though there's 15 years between us, ACK!). Loryn is my half brother's wife and got to hug me before he did, haha! She and I had a great time the weekend of Deidra’s wedding and she made me the proud aunt to my seventh nephew on New Year's Eve last year. Shelly is my bio mom's step-daughter. I've only met her once but she and I got along great and with her two daughters, bumped my number of nieces up to four! Last but not least is my half sister, Cara, on my bio dad's side. As soon as he told her about me, she hopped on her MySpace and shot me a friend request and message. She sent me a wedding invitation (unfortunately I couldn't go since it was in South Carolina), asked my opinion of what to name her son, and when we did finally meet in person we talked non-stop!

I love all of my sisters and am grateful to have each of them in my life. Some people go through their lives never having any type of sister. I'm blessed to have ten.