I miss my sister ...

I miss my sister.  I keep seeing and experiencing things that break my heart over and over again wishing I could drop by and see her and give her a hug.  My sister, Kristy, lives in Colorado and I live in Nevada.  It is a twelve hour drive between us.  I know that really isn’t that much, but it feels like it might as well be 12 days away.  Flying may cut the travel time down, but it isn’t ideal because of the cost.  So, we don’t get to just stop by, or meet up for coffee.  We are very limited in our time together.  Whenever we are near each other we have other family members that want to see us too.  So, we don’t get to have it be just the two of us very often.

I did not fully appreciate having a sister when I was younger.  We are nine years apart in age.  She was someone I took care of, not someone that I could rely on.  However, over the years, I have watched her grow up, and I have had to adjust to the role we have in each other’s lives.  She is now someone that I can not only rely on, but I need her.  I have to admit, sometimes when my sister-in-law Megan talks about her adventures with her sister Rebekah, I feel cheated that I didn’t get to have that kind of relationship with Kristy.  If we had been closer in age we’d have all kinds of adventurous tales.  But on the flip side, we would’ve killed each other. :)  

Now when I think about my sister, I see a gorgeous woman, who is an amazing fiancée (wife) and mother.  I wish I could be more like her in many ways.  She is courageous, and kind, and she speaks her mind.  She is charismatic, super funny and witty.  And man oh man, can she cook!  She is über organized, and she is probably one of the most creative people I know.  She is far from perfect (which she might argue with), but she makes up for it by being nothing but herself.  

I am regularly surprised by how much pride and love I feel for her when I think of her.  Even as I type this I find myself struggling not to cry.  She will probably never understand just how far I would go to help her, and protect her.  When she hurts, I hurt.  When she is happy, my heart sings with joy.  And nothing pleases me more than seeing her with her son, Ace.  She is doing such a good job making sure that he is contented, confident and uniquely Ace.  

Not a day goes by that I don’t think of her, and pray for her and her sweet little family.  At least once a week I wish I could stop by her house just to hug her.   She can always comfort me, make me laugh, and there are never any pretensions.  She is my Krispie, my sissy.  And no matter what, even if we are fighting, there is never an offense great enough to come between us.  We just yell it out and are done with it.   

I only have two wishes for our relationship; one is that we could live nearer to each other.  The other wish is that she would quit worrying about making me worry.  I want to help carry her burden.  I want her to be sure that I would drop everything in a heartbeat to be there for her. Because that’s what sisters do.     

No matter what happens in our lives, what mistakes we each make, we will have each other’s backs.  She is one of the most amazing people I have ever met.  And I have been blessed not only to have her in my life, but to have the privilege to call her sister. 

14 years!!!

Today marks the 14^th year that Casey & I have been an “item.”  What’s cool about this year in particular is that we started dating 14 years ago, and on our wedding anniversary in August, we’ll have been married for half of that time together.  I have to say, that it has been quite an adventure.  

Fourteen years ago, a very shy Casey asked me to go see a The Wedding Singer with him.  Of course, I said yes.  Later that Friday night Casey showed up to my house, and met my father.  Now, this was the first time that any of the guys that I dated actually wanted to meet my dad.  He spent so much time schmoozing my dad that we ended up missing the movie.  So, instead of a movie we went to play at the Nugget arcade.  We had an awkwardly sweet time.  

Many years later here we are.  We have had our many ups, and our many downs.  We have worked really hard to make sure that we grow together.  We started dating when he was a senior in and I was a junior in High School. That is a whole lot of changes that we have weathered together.  We are not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but I think daily we grow stronger together. 

The biggest lesson that I have learned in my relationship with Casey is how important it is for me to allow him to be a man.  I know most people say communication, and I don’t disagree with that.  However, I think many women construe communication as them talking at their husbands, and expecting them to listen to us.  Well, listening and talking is a two way street.  How many of us take a step back and actually listen to what our husbands are trying to tell us?  How many of us can’t hear our husbands because the only one talking is us?  How many women complain, “He refuses to talk!  I don’t know how to make him open up.”?  I know that this is a very old fashioned concept.  But I have found that when I offer my opinion, shut up, step back and let Casey process … Well the result is pretty awesome.  He loves me and I have to trust that he is going to make the best possible decisions for our family.  He takes my opinion into consideration, and usually it gets thrown into the mix, or if not, he usually has a reasonable explanation as to why that didn’t work.  I love that if I give him enough time, he comes to me with answers that he has carefully considered.  I am not satisfied every time with the outcome.  However, I am super satisfied with the level of happiness I see in my husband.  So, basically what I am saying is the biggest lesson I have learned in 14 years is to shut up, and be patient.  

I love my sweet Husby very, very much, and I hope we can have another 43 years together (that would put us at our 50^th wedding anniversary.)  If you are reading this Casey … *SMOOCH* HAPPY (dating) ANNIVERSARY!!!