a sister is something not to be returned

So today is a special day.

My sister turns 31!
But that is not what makes it special. The special part is remembering 31 years of all the fun we've had.

For starters, she has always been kind of pushy. Like the time when my mom was in labor -she pushed me out of the way just so she could say she was born first.
See what I mean? Pushy.

She also always had to show me up.
Like when we were babies she showed up with more hair - so I pulled it.
as we got older she would buy a new shirt, so I borrowed it.
We also shared a room and she slept on the top bunk - so I kicked it.

There have been a lot of ups and downs. Most say that twins are really close and have a special relationship and for the most part that is true.
When we were like 7 years old she fell off the kitchen table and as a result she went blind for several hours.
I being a great and supportive twin could not let her go through something like this on her own, so I copied this behavior and fell off my bike a week later and went blind for a couple of hours too.
We are sometimes very much in tune with each other. When she was in labor with her first child I went to the hospital to see her, but because I was uncomfortable with seeing her uncomfortable. I rambled nervously about how skinny and tan I was which I am sure she TOTALLY appreciated.

We are also like fire and ice at times.
In High School she liked gangsta, sagging pants style and I was wearing cardigans and penny loafers.
She liked to skip school and I... well, I did that too.
She learned how to tag and I wrote poetry.
She went into the army and I went to work at Sears.

As we got older, we have slowly grown apart, probably because we were expected to always be so close growing up.
We attended twin look alike contests, switched places with each other on April Fools and shared nicknames like Malamber and Twinnies - neither of which we never really enjoyed.

But with all of these things, through thick and thin, good times and bad. whether we are on speaking terms or not. She still thinks of me and I of her. We remember each other often and usually get a long better when I don't live in the same state. :D
She really gets me. She knows me for who I am.
This is the person I could play paper dolls with for hours (even when we were probably too old to still be playing with them)
This is the person that knew that when she was sneaking out of my parents house in the middle of the night that I would place a picture of Christ on the wall and make sure she was aware that he was watching her. I can still hear her telling me to shut up.
Man those were the days.

This is my twin sister and although they say identical, we are really nothing alike and yet are alike in almost every way.

So today as I celebrate her and she probably me. (I hope)
I say, Thanks.
Thanks for not letting me grow up to be naive, or selfish, or sheltered. Thanks for standing up for me even when it wasn't cool. Thanks for claiming to be my sister when others would have walked away from the weird girl and her even weirder friends.
Thanks for giving me confidence and for being my confidant.
Thanks for loving me. Unconditionally. Even when unconditional wanted to come with terms.

Here's hoping you have a wonderful day. That Angels will fly with you. Just know that I am thinking of you today.

And you know what they say? 31 is the new 24 - So have one for me!

Your Awesome!! (but you already knew that!)
Love ya!

Growing up with my sister is my most treasured childhood memory.