Family and Friends

I valued my friends more than I did my family while growing up. I was the oldest of 5 siblings, and other than the brother right beneath me in age (Clint), I wasn’t very close to any of them. My sister Whitney and I fought all the time. She wanted to be a part of everything Clint and I did. We saw her as a nuisance. An annoying tag along. I wanted nothing to do with her, and the rare times we did end up playing together always ended badly. We had slapping and scratching fights. I’m pretty sure she still has my fingernail gouges in her arms.

I shudder to think of how I treated her, but I know we have since forgiven each other, and I’m grateful that we’ve become friends. Sadly, we only started becoming friends right before I got married and moved away. I still feel like there is so much about her I need to get to know. The same goes for my two youngest siblings who were ages 12 and 9 when I moved away. I had dreams of being the big sister to them, that I always should have been to Whitney. But now they’re nearly grown up and of course we still live far away.

I can say now though, that we are all friends, in spite of the distance between us. We don’t communicate with each other that often but we know that we love each other and will be there for each other when we can. I’m pleased that as I’ve grown and matured, I’ve realized what my family has always been. They are my family and my friends, and I miss them!