[success]A sister is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost. ~Marion C. Garretty[/success]
My sister is beautiful. Not just on the outside, she’s beautiful inside too. She’s funny and silly and kind and charming and did I mention beautiful.
When we were really little and learning how to swim, Christine hated to get water in her eyes, so she would manage to jump into the pool without going under. How she did it no-one knew, she would just jump and keep her head above the water, bobbing around like a little cork.
Do you hold your breath we asked.
Don’t know.
Do you hold your body really still, or move your arms and legs really really fast?
Don’t know.
Well she was only five so she probably couldn’t tell us, she may not even have known herself. She just did what she needed to do to stay afloat. My brother and I were desperate to do it too, but never quite managed it with the same finesse.
She’s still like that. Life has dealt her some hard knocks, and she might go down for a bit. But before too long, there she is bobbing back – she really doesn’t bounce, she definitely bobs. What a great quality to have. The bobbability factor. Yes, I just made that word up.
Did I mentioned that she’s beautiful?
We don’t live close to each other, not even in the same State, so we don’t get to have a nice cup of tea together on a regular basis. A nice cup of tea being the British panacea for whatever ails you. Feeling ill, let’s have a nice cup of tea. Sad and lonely, let’s have a nice cup of tea. Kids gone to College…that’s right, let’s have a nice cup of tea.
I have no clue why a nice cup of tea is the remedy for all that might be wrong. Nor do I have a clue about why it’s a nice cup of tea, and not just a cup of tea. Some things just are.
We’ve sneaked a peek at Christmas presents together, hung upside down from tree branches and teased our brother.
We’ve been rivals for clothes and boys and I’m really envious of her skinny hips and great eyebrows.
We share family jokes and grief and memories and she’s the golden thread that holds our hearts and childhood together. Did I mention she’s beautiful inside and out?
Have a happy, happy birthday Kiddo. I love you.
Encourage one another – especially your sister.
Love Elle
3 Comments
Thank you my dear sister! Birthdays are great and I’m always happy to have another one. Thank you also for saying such lovely things and bringing back that memory of me “bobbing” in the water…. not sure how I managed to do that either but I certainly do remember doing it loads of times. Wonder if I still have the “bobability” factor in me? It’s on my bucket list now! Thank you for the birthday greeting and most of all the memories. Hugs and love , Cee
Hi Elle (what a beautiful name:-)
I’ve just as of this morning discovered your brilliant blog via a Google search for the best personal development blogs. I’ve really enjoyed reading about you and your posts. I love this one, it resonates with me on many levels. Yup, a nice cup of tea does indeed put the world to rights!
I too am a British expat living in America. And a fledgling personal development writer. I’m looking for some fellow bloggers in my field to learn from and champion so I’m delighted to have stumbled into your blog. Thanks for the wisdom, and the inspiration.
Hi Yvette and welcome on board. So glad you enjoyed your first visit and may you come back many times. If you check into my FB page you’ll find I share a number of posts from other bloggers in our field, would love to have you join us there too. Here’s a link to make it easy. https://www.facebook.com/livepurposefullynow/