Today is my sister's birthday, but she isn't here to help celebrate it. In 2007 brain cancer took her from us. I wanted to celebrate her this year just because I need to find something positive to celebrate as I myself come upon 4 years with my own form of cancer (I have blood cancer). Not only that, but recently I have been going through some of our family photos and came upon a photo that I'm sure she is not pleased I have.
Nadine just before her triplets were born June 1994
But she isn't here to send me hate mail and I actually like this photo. Why, because it shows true sacrifice. My sister was amazingly smart. It was actually embarrassing at times. I went through the same high school as she did only 15 years later and her name was still spoken with reverence.
She could have done anything she wanted to with that brain. She loved English history and would have made an excellent history teacher. She loved, loved Shakespeare and I think it would have been fun to be a pupil in a Shakespeare class taught by her. Her musical talents were far superior to mine or even my mothers (and my mom was DANG GOOD!) and she could have done anything she wanted to be--and played probably any instrument she wanted. But no, she put all that aside and became a mom. She had nine children at her death and all are great kids! She sacrificed it all (even her womanly figure--if only for nine months) to be a mom.
I recall fond memoires of our emails back and forth to each other. We would start them on Monday and by the time we finished them it would be Friday with a lot of "Well, I'm back...now where was I" in most of body of our emails.
So to my sister:
Who was/is way better than I am or will ever be.
Who can sew, sing, play, read, and is just plain better than me in all aspect of life (except maybe sports)
Who is my "big" sister (I'm taller)
Who my first memories of her are of her returning from school and taking over "my" bedroom
Who with her dark hair and just a wave to it was a beauty
Who taught me that you can still be pretty without all your hair (She showed up at our Grandma's funeral just weeks after brain surgery and then when I went completely bald--I didn't mind letting the world see my shiny head!)
Who I desperately wanted to be like:
Happy Birthday Nadine. You set the bar very high and I strive every day to just look up at it.
Sisters having fun in 1999