Happy Birthday, Kimberly!

Today is my little sister's 25th birthday! And on this august occasion, I'd like to say that I love her ridiculously much. In fact, I love her in a very special way - a way that is hers alone. She is, after all, the only little sister in the world that is mine! So I love her in this wonderful friend kind of way, but also a protective kind of way... an interesting combination that comes out to something pretty profound.

I'm not sure when the protective thing started. Perhaps it was the time that she was traumatized by a fire alarm in first grade. I was a mighty sixth grader at the time, and was now getting up to my own alarm. Sadly, my alarm went off for the first time the morning after the traumatic fire alarm, and sounded a lot like said fire alarm. I can practically hear her trembling little voice coming from the bunk below me, and I quickly assured her everything was okay, and she should go back to sleep. Maybe that's when it started, or some occasion like that. Or maybe it's just part of being a big sister. All I know is that I want to watch out for her, even now that she's all grown up. She'll always be my little sister.

Yet at the same time, she has become a peer. I so clearly remember one of our first conversations that went beyond just the sister relationship to the friend relationship. We were visiting the Demmes, and had been out on their boat. On the boat ride home, after dark, the two of us sat up in the bow, and talked about life and faith and grown-up things. From that day to this our friendship has only grown. She is so much fun, and I just love doing things with her or being around her. Being home together is one of the happiest things in my life.

And in some ways, she ends up taking care of me. Perhaps she knows a little bit about what it's like to be a big sister, even though she's the youngest:) In any case, she reminds me of things, and helps me keep organized. But more than that, she is coming into a wisdom and maturity all her own. Just a few months ago I called her in a moment of frustration with teaching, and knew that she would listen sympathetically, but also say something that would help me past that hurdle. Sure enough, she did, and I went back into the school (I'd called from my car on my lunch break) ready to take on the afternoon.

So whether she's the baby sister, the friend, or the peer, she is an amazing girl, about whom I could go on and on and on (I haven't even touched on her passion for God, her awesome sense of humor, her sense of adventure, her love for cowboys - heh heh - or a multitude of other things that make her who she is!), and I'm glad to wish her a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!