HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CALOGIPI!
Happy Birthday to my beautiful and wonderful sister, calogipi!
Most of you already know this, but I pretty much think my sister is incredible. She went off to college when I was 2, and I remember always being so excited when she came home to visit! When I was about 12, she moved back to Alabama with her (much smaller) family, consisting of her, her husband, and her two boys who were 4 and 2 years old. Because of her, I actually felt like I had younger brothers, since they lived just a couple miles away and came to visit often.
For the first part of my childhood, I didn't know Cathy as well because she was always gone. But I still remember having New Year's Eve at her house one year, where we watched Ladyhawke and Back to the Future III and falling asleep in the back room on her water bed. I remember staying at her house in Orem one night when I was about 9 and watching the Disney Sing-a-long version of Zip-a-dee-doo-da. I remember being the postman when I was about 5 and she and my other sisters sang "Mr. Postman" for the talent show at our church, only because she convinced me to do it by threatening to give the position to her stuffed Snoopy instead. (I admit it, I was smart, but I wasn't always too bright.) She's told me many times that when I was an infant, I was "her" baby. She was 16 years old and had become the secondary mom for our big family of 7 kids.
Then she moved to Alabama and we became closer. She was called into the Young Women's presidency at church, and she would give me rides to and from church on Wednesday nights, as well as on Sundays when my mom and dad had to travel and speak in other wards. Because of this, we had lots of time to talk. This is probably when we started becoming really close, because we talked about many different things, and she always did something that I had wanted someone to do: she listened. She would give occasional advice, but mostly she just listened. And since all of my other siblings were off and about in different states, doing various things, she was the big sister I needed.
I remember sitting at the high school after marching band practice, sometimes for an extra hour or two, because my mom had gotten distracted with doing something for one of her other many kids, or because she'd been working on something for church, or because she was simply exhausted because she's the kind of person who just works and works and works and works until she HAS to take a rest. Then Cathy would think to herself, "I wonder if Mom remembered to pick up Bill..." There were quite a few times when a few hours after my mom was supposed to be there, Cathy would roll up in her minivan with all three of her boys. As frustrated as I was at being left behind (and this is in NO way a critique of my mom, because she really DID just work SO hard all the time!!!), I considered it a treat when Cathy picked me up.
And then, ten years ago today, on her own birthday, my sister, who had ALWAYS wanted a little girl, got the best birthday present ever! Her daughter, Molly, was born, and the two of them share a birthday now. Molly, the little dreamer, the inventor, the cook, the scientist, the dog, cat, princess, pony, unicorn... That girl's imagination knows no bounds.
So I just want to say Happy Birthday to my big sister and my niece. I love you both!!! You're incredible, and I consider myself so blessed to have you in my life!
Most of you already know this, but I pretty much think my sister is incredible. She went off to college when I was 2, and I remember always being so excited when she came home to visit! When I was about 12, she moved back to Alabama with her (much smaller) family, consisting of her, her husband, and her two boys who were 4 and 2 years old. Because of her, I actually felt like I had younger brothers, since they lived just a couple miles away and came to visit often.
For the first part of my childhood, I didn't know Cathy as well because she was always gone. But I still remember having New Year's Eve at her house one year, where we watched Ladyhawke and Back to the Future III and falling asleep in the back room on her water bed. I remember staying at her house in Orem one night when I was about 9 and watching the Disney Sing-a-long version of Zip-a-dee-doo-da. I remember being the postman when I was about 5 and she and my other sisters sang "Mr. Postman" for the talent show at our church, only because she convinced me to do it by threatening to give the position to her stuffed Snoopy instead. (I admit it, I was smart, but I wasn't always too bright.) She's told me many times that when I was an infant, I was "her" baby. She was 16 years old and had become the secondary mom for our big family of 7 kids.
Then she moved to Alabama and we became closer. She was called into the Young Women's presidency at church, and she would give me rides to and from church on Wednesday nights, as well as on Sundays when my mom and dad had to travel and speak in other wards. Because of this, we had lots of time to talk. This is probably when we started becoming really close, because we talked about many different things, and she always did something that I had wanted someone to do: she listened. She would give occasional advice, but mostly she just listened. And since all of my other siblings were off and about in different states, doing various things, she was the big sister I needed.
I remember sitting at the high school after marching band practice, sometimes for an extra hour or two, because my mom had gotten distracted with doing something for one of her other many kids, or because she'd been working on something for church, or because she was simply exhausted because she's the kind of person who just works and works and works and works until she HAS to take a rest. Then Cathy would think to herself, "I wonder if Mom remembered to pick up Bill..." There were quite a few times when a few hours after my mom was supposed to be there, Cathy would roll up in her minivan with all three of her boys. As frustrated as I was at being left behind (and this is in NO way a critique of my mom, because she really DID just work SO hard all the time!!!), I considered it a treat when Cathy picked me up.
And then, ten years ago today, on her own birthday, my sister, who had ALWAYS wanted a little girl, got the best birthday present ever! Her daughter, Molly, was born, and the two of them share a birthday now. Molly, the little dreamer, the inventor, the cook, the scientist, the dog, cat, princess, pony, unicorn... That girl's imagination knows no bounds.
So I just want to say Happy Birthday to my big sister and my niece. I love you both!!! You're incredible, and I consider myself so blessed to have you in my life!