There is nothing like a sister!

This is me and my sister - her name is Michelle and she is one year and 3 days younger than me, we grew up like twins. I want to tell you about her today, as she is definitely the most important person in my life along with my husband and children.

Michelle and I have always been close, in this picture we are probably about 15 and 16 years old. Ignore the beer can, it wasn't ours, I swear! ;o)

When we were little, our mom dressed us alike and everyone thought we were twins. We were pretty cute, I must admit! When I was about 4 years old, Michelle was 3, I decided one morning to give her a hair cut. This is the result:

Nice bangs, huh? She's going to KILL me for posting this. hee hee Anyway, when I heard my mom wake up, being the genius that I am, I put a cowboy hat on Michelle and told her to keep quiet. I mean, come on, how brilliant is that? Our mom would NEVER notice! Oh wait - you mean she can't wear the cowboy hat for the next 3 months? Uh-oh, mom starts wondering why Shelly is wearing a cowboy hat at 6:30 a.m..... hmmmm.... let's just say mom didn't think I was quite so brilliant. My mom burst into tears and took Michelle next door to the neighbor's house, from what I understand it was simply to avoid killing me. She got over it rather quickly, as moms are forced to do, and as you can see, it certainly didn't affect Shelly's cuteness quotient! If anything, I think she looks even cuter because you can see her entire face! Yeah, that's it, I did it on PURPOSE cuz I knew how adorable she'd look! Let's just say that was the end of my hair-dressing career.

As teenagers, Michelle and I had mostly the same circle of friends. We hung out together and got into trouble together - me a bit more than her. Even though I'm older by a year, Michelle has always acted like the big sister. She's the one who forces me to think rationally, she's the one who is always there for me, she's the one I turn to for absolutely everything. She's my best friend, my confidante, my real-life angel. My old boyfriend from high school used to get annoyed and say we were "joined at the hip" - because I wouldn't do hardly anything without her, or at LEAST without consulting her first. I cannot imagine my life without her.

As we've grown up, we've gone through so much together - our parents divorced when we were teenagers, when my mom discovered that my dad was a cocaine addict. He got very sick and died when I was pregnant with my son 15 years ago. We had not been in touch with him in several years, but we went to the hospital together to say goodbye. He abused his body for so long, the drugs had taken a toll on his heart, he was only 44 years old and looked about 70 when he died. I could not have gotten through that without Michelle.

We were maid-of-honor at each other's weddings. We've each had 2 children, and our kids are very close with each other and with us. Michelle has 2 sons, so she tends to go overboard with my daughter and spoil her rotten. Cassidy doesn't mind a bit, and she absolutely adores her auntie. She's like a 2nd mother to both of my children, and she's one of the only people who understands Trevor, or at least tries to! She has more patience than anyone I've ever met in my entire life.

My sister is the most generous, giving, loving, sweet, un-selfish, loyal person I've ever met in my life. Anytime I need her, she is there for me - but not just me! You know those trees they put up at Christmas with tags on them with kids' names, and you can take one and buy a gift for them? They might be involved with DSS or be ill, etc. My sister takes more than one tag every year - and she doesn't just buy a gift. Noooo, not Michelle, Michelle buys CHRISTMAS! This girl will go out and purchase brand new clothes, snowsuits, boots, toys, etc. - any child whose name she grabs is going to have a fantastic holiday, I can guarantee that.

Now that we're grown-ups (YUCK!), we are lucky enough to work together at a local college. We work in 2 different departments, but in the same office and our departments work closely together. It's so great getting to spend all day with her, being able to chat and go to lunch together, etc. The funniest part is when Michelle is dealing with a student and/or parent, and then she sends them to me - I've had quite a few who have said to me, "Wow - you look a lot like that girl I was just with!" LOL I just smile and say "yup, we're sisters!" That sentence means so much, in so few words. We're sisters - we look alike, we think alike, we even dress alike without knowing it at least a few days each week! Sometimes I think we should call each other in the morning to make sure we're NOT wearing the same clothes! ha ha

One of my friends likes to always say "You can choose your friends, but you can't choose your family." She's right - and I am so very lucky that I have the most wonderful sister in the world. If I could choose, I'd choose her a million times over. I can put up with almost anyone and/or anything when I have her by my side. Shelly, thanks for being you - I love you, sis.