I have never had someone write a story about me. Today, I checked my sister's blog and there it was. I have asked other family members if I can display some of their writing here because it seems to be something a few of us enjoy. To reflect and to write.
I share this with you not in an attempt to "self congratulate" but rather to show you just how wonderful it is to have someone know you completely like only a sister could. In reading this, I also have come to understand that I guess we really do develop our personalities at a young age and the more things change, the more they stay the same. Thanks Care for giving me a tender glimpse of what it was like growing up with me. WOW. I love you forever and a day.
Some siblings don't find friendship and unconditional love in their lot, in eachother. But I am a lucky one. I have. It is strong bond with my one and only. Her name is Laura. Isn't that a pretty name? Old fashioned but Classic. Humble but Elegant. Welcoming and Down to Earth. And named after the middle name of our Grandmother. So she is well named. As a little girl, I thought of her as my own dolly much of the time,Thumbalina as my Mom called her. A doll that I could feed real pie to, and she loved it. And so the nickname PieFace from our Dad.
I remember right from the beginning of her. I remember she smiled easily and her face always looked happy. Even when she cried, she'd smile. I remember her eyes welling up when she was happy to see me. Thankfully, that was often. And for some strange reason I seemed to understand what that was back then,that it was happiness. I knew she was happy and I 'd tell her that..." Yes, your happy to see me, aren't you Laura? "Lunch times of chicken noodle soup in pink plastic bowls,and Laura having to be tied into the big kids chair is a vision I still recall easily. And she was always braver than I for being the younger of the two of us. She jokes about me scaring her with the "hamburgler"but honestly, she wasn't afraid of much. When I was too chicken to go down the basement and get potatoes from the fruit cellar, I could always convince her to do it for me. Convincing her was usually in the form of a threat to tell about her and Stefan kissing,but it saved me many times from having to go down those stairs and it worked for years...until she confessed to our mother that she kissed that Stefan.
For years we abandoned our own rooms and slept in the spare room together. Again, I was a chicken. I'd beg her to sleep in the spare room just one more night. And she always did. And she put up with a lot, I peed the bed till I was 11. I only remember her complaining once and that was the time I blamed her for the wet bed.
Laura was a bit of a tomboy growing up. Was never fond of hair brushings usually quite dirty from a full day of outside play and just ...always up to things. If she wasn't clearing the nicknacks out of my room thinking I'd never notice them in her room, she'd have some concoction in the blender, some lost animal hidden in her room, or she was organizing some "Main Event" andputting all her little friends to work while she gave orders.
She'd have a new friend daily. She could meet a new friend anywhere. At the park, bike riding or just walking up that long street Norway Ave. but she'd bring them home for supper. And she'd sit smiling from ear to ear at them at the supper table, telling stories and offering them her last bite of food. She was good friend with many, many of them. The kind of kid that would smile at you with a fondness in her eye that made you feel like you were the best friend ever. She still has that little Beav smile,the one where her eyebrow raises just a tad and her cheeks indent in the lower corners.Yes, I know my sister well, from her smile right down to her feet.
Scavenger hunts,hikes that lasted until dark,and night long games of hide and seekand kick baseball,sleepovers and theme parties were part of her personality. And still are. To me, Laura was a little girl that you had to call 20 times to come in for supper,she never sat still to eat proper,and in minutes she was out playing again. She was extremely easy going most times but she had a temper and could beat the molasses out of me. I deserved it becausefor some reason I got a kick out of teasing her. It was usually about her height, she was always the tallest girl in her class or her big feet ( I am sooo sorry for that Laura). I'd tease her until she got to the point of her red explosive face and then I regretted it. A straight and thorough hair pulling (her famous move)never stopped me from egging her on the next day though so, like I said I deserved it.
She was always a helper of mankind from a very younge age. She loved older people, and animals and earthy things for as long as I can remember. I am quite sure she would still climb a tree in a dress. She has always been strong and brave,and would stand up to anyone,or any cause she believed in. She was a born leader. As she grew up,her fiesty stayed but sometimes bossy personality softened. It only comes out when experiencing bad service or injustice towards her fellow man. She is still full of mischief andonly last week scared the molasses of out of my son,just for kicks.
She learns best hands on, by doing it, not being told how to do it. But rolling up her sleeves and trial and error. She is a wife and a mother now. And a great one. But she is so, still that little girl,that loved playing tricks,getting dirty,and eating pie, one sliver of each kind.
And being the very best person she knows how to be. Herself.
By Carrie
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