Sunday, August 23, 2009

college bound.

today i packed up my dad's venza with the most important of my baby sister's possessions. tomorrow, my parents will drive beka to the university of buffalo.

she will start classes soon.

and then, suddenly, in the blink of an eye, she will stop being a teenager and start becoming a woman. she will learn so much and eventually she will have to struggle through that rough patch of early twenties. i'm sure she will have a great time, and i'm sure she will make mistakes. i hope that i have the grace to remember what i was like when i was that age (hell on wheels) and to be a good sister to her, and a good friend when she needs one.

my sister was the light of my life and my shining star when she was born. i have never met anyone quite like her. she is creative in the weirdest ways, she thinks way outside the box, she is funny, and cute, and sweet, and brilliant. she has one of the deepest voices i have ever heard.

some of my favorite memories involve my sister. rocking her to sleep by the light of the christmas tree when she was a baby. giving her maincures and pedicures. decorating christmas cookies. we even took a road trip together when she was 12 - to nashville and florida.

when i moved to nashville, she saved up her money and put her little teen self on a plane and flew down for a week for my birthday present.

just a couple of months ago, my dad brought her up to visit me in the middle of a weekday. i took a half day from work and decided to take the two of them over to ithaca falls. she walked as close as she could possibly get to the falls and had the biggest smile on her face for the longest time. she giggled. she reminded me of her little self - the toddler, before she had known very many hard times. she looked free, and beautiful, and purely happy.

that is beka to me. the best sister ever, the coolest kid, and someone i am almost as excited to know as an adult as i was to meet as a baby.

almost.

i love you, sissy. you're still my shining star.