My sister leaves for Orlando Saturday. I don’t want her to go. I mean I do. But I really don’t. We've lived together for about a year and that’s mini-me we’re talking about. I certainly don’t appreciate all of this growing up going on. What’s with kids nowadays wanting to establish their independence and spread their wings? Bologna!

Here’s my confession: I admit to not being the best big sister as she was growing up. We’re ten years apart so when she was five, I was caught up in my own teenage angst and didn’t bother to see I had the cutest little girl wanting to just hang out with me. I missed EVERYTHING about her childhood and I hate that. The other day she asked me if I remember when she was Posh Spice in a school play… I didn’t even know what she was talking about. I think I pretended to remember. How is that possible? How cute is a seven-year-old as a Spice Girl?

Yesterday she showed me a drawing of her family that she did in kindergarten. We both had a good laugh because she included Mom, Dad, Jonathan, Michelle and herself. We don’t know any Jonathan and we don’t know a Michelle… she made them up. I wasn’t even in the picture. She made up the siblings she actually wished she had. Funny, right? Not so much. I was pretty crushed.

But the present is all we have and no use crying over spilled milk! Through thick and thin we both turned out pretty well and all we can do is look ahead. I regret a lot of my actions or lack there of, but dwelling on negativity never accomplished anything. I really do believe I have some kind of karmic contract to take care of her and always will. But in lieu of more sappiness, I’ll share the following:

Things I’ll miss
• Waking up late, eating breakfast with very sleepy faces, and arguing with her because she never, EVER wants to do the dishes.
• Watching our stories while having afternoon tea and sweets.
• Always having a back-up supply of eyeliner.
• Capt. Gilligan – what can I say, the pet monster grew on me.
• Me totally messing up her hair as she’s walking out the house all prepped up and ready to impress the boys. *evil laugh*
• Having a fashionista in the house… I need the help.
• Random thrifty shopping outings.
• Torturing her with my audio books. C’mon, who doesn’t want to listen to King Lear in my car?! Ludicrous I tell ya!

What I could’ve lived without
• My food randomly disappearing.
• My father calling to scream at me for stuff my sister did or did not do. Hhhhmm… wait, I think that’ll still happen… *sigh*
• Her twenty one-year-old friends calling me a MILF (I’m not even a mom!).
• Having canned worms in my fridge… no joke. The monster likes them.
• The awful mess in her room and bathroom – good GOD.
• All the lights turned on during the day.

Memorable moments
• The night I realized Capt. Gilligan’s lunch escaped. I had giant and I mean HUGE crickets bouncing up and down ALL over my place. My sister was conveniently missing so I had to chase them all over my house… one by one.
• The time she came home all excited to make koogle (pasta dish). She bought all the ingredients, had a great recipe her friends had given her at work, and it turned out AWFUL. It was so horrible that I couldn’t even fake it. I think it killed her cooking spirit a bit, but it was a great laugh.
• Flying grandma over to stay with us for three months.

*double sigh*

I guess this is what it feels to have your kids move away from home. It’s an odd combination of excitement, pride, and unbelievable apprehension! Even though she's only moving a few hours away, I know this was a really hard decision for my little sister to make. We're a really tight-knit family so I'll tell her the same thing I keep telling myself through this entire process: put on your big girl panties and deal with it :) Words to live by....

I’ll miss you. Call me every five minutes.

Call Me Every Five Minutes