Family Ties

"Sisters function as safety nets in a chaotic world simply by being there for each other."
~ Carol Saline

Journalist, broadcaster, author and public speaker.

This quote made me think about how lucky I am to have a sister and how very lucky I am to have a sister and a brother. The relationship I have with each of them is very different...

My brother and I are close in age, so close that sometimes we were mistaken as twins (I always thought that was funny since I'm the youngest).  We played together as kids (singing in the back of the station wagon and reinacting Legends of the Hidden Temple in the backyard), shared experiences in school together (going on high school chorus trips, sharing the same teachers, and hanging out with friends), and partied together in college (he did have a pretty cool house and group of friends at Pitt).  Now that he lives 4 hours away, we spend time chatting on the phone, laughing, telling stories, and keeping up with each other's lives.  When we do get to spend time together it is nothing short of fun.  He has a liveliness and personality just full of fun that you can't help but have sore cheeks from laughing all of the time.  

My sister and I have a different story, but being 7 years apart, I wouldn't expect anything different.  We went through phases in life at completely different times.  When I was in elementary school obsessed with the Spice Girls and all things girly, she was a senior in high school who only cared about hanging out with friends and apparently, in those days, it was cool to dress like a boy (admit it, you did go through that phase).  She then went to college and I feel like there was a gap in middle school and early high school when she wasn't around and it was just my brother and I.  Then I turned 16 and things changed...  She taught me how to drive, we shared clothes, and we spent more time together.  Although she moved away for a few years, we still stayed close and grew even closer when she moved back to Pittsburgh and got pregnant.  I went to doctor visits with her, we went baby shopping, and spent Friday nights watching movies and eating popcorn since neither of us could drink.  I swear that my now 5 year old niece and I are so close because I spent so much time with her before she was even born.

Both of them have become my safety net in this world.  They've already experienced hurdles and problems in life that I am now going through, so they can offer advice and provide support for almost anything (the benefits I have for being the youngest).  They've shown me what not to do, given advice of how to do things differently, and proven what works in life.  In this crazy and chaotic world, our relationships remain simple and easy and through every curveball that life throws at us, I know that this is one thing that will never change.