Six and a Half (Almost Seven) Degrees of Separation

I remember begging my parents for a little sister like a child begs for that puppy in the window. I wanted one so badly. I wanted company and I guess my imaginary friends were just not enough anymore. Finally, after six and a half (almost seven) years of begging I got a little baby sister (at least that’s how I figured I got what I wanted). Just as with the puppy, you don’t realize the responsibility until you actually get it home and live with it for a little while.

As we grew up, our six and a half (almost seven) year age difference became this enormous chasm between us. She was … well … (if anyone out there has a younger sibling several years younger than you, you know what she was) … a royal pest! I began to detest this little being who had invaded my picture perfect only child life. Oh, and of course, to add insult to injury, it didn’t help at all that the little twerp was perfect! She was athletic, she got good grades, and she captivated attention every where she went. Not to mention I had to share everything from toys to favorite relatives with her. Gone were the days when I was the cute and clever one. This silly little girl who refused to match her clothes or comb her hair took over. I counted the days, hours, minutes, and seconds to high school graduation when it was off to college in North Carolina and freedom from that little thorn in my side. After college, I vowed to never move back home and so I kept going … settling in Atlanta Georgia. I never looked back.

Every summer break (when I was in school) and holidays when I came home, Kelly was different. The first year or so, not much because she was still a little kid and still a royal pain in the “you know what.” She was always wanting to go with me everywhere, picking up the phone during my conversations with my friends, etc. Then one summer, it all somehow changed. She changed. She wasn’t the same. She was tall …very leggy and, well to be honest, quite beautiful. There was a young woman standing in front of me that I absolutely did not recognize. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Kelly grew up and I missed it. I didn’t even know who she was. I missed everything … her first kiss, her prom, her first break up, her first failed exam, her first “A” in a hard class … every major life event that a little sister would need her big sister for (or at least would have liked to have her big sister for), I missed. All I had in my head all those years was the ten year old pest I left behind when I went off to school. It never occurred to me she would change … and for the better.