National Sisters Day

In honor of National Sisters Day, I would like to take a moment to recognize my one and only sister.

We haven't always been sisters.  I remember the day my brother was born, over sixteen years ago.  Ever since that day, I had been praying for a sister.  Unfortunately, I grew up, and the sister never came.
Then, my sophomore year of high school, I met a girl from South Korea who was attending my school as an international student.  After a year of sleepovers, giving her rides to hockey games, and general bonding time, she moved in with me at the beginning of our junior year.  And thus, the sisterhood began.
Now, I absolutely love my sister.  But don't get me wrong, our two years together weren't perfect.  The longer she was here, the more we started to act like real sisters: we argued, ignored each other, hugged and made up, and then did it all over again the next day.  It was a roller coaster, but it was the time of my life.  The time I spent with my sister was the best 542 days (that's two school years minus summers, Christmases and a couple vacations) I've ever had.
My sister moved out in June, and I miss her, but I'll never forget her.  All I can say is, thank goodness for Skype, Facebook and long-distance calls.  :)

Now fast forward to today.  My cousins from Ohio are in town visiting some of my relatives, so my parents and I stopped by to catch up with them.  After spending a couple hours hula-hooping and piggyback riding with my 6-year-old cousin, I headed inside to chat with her mom before we left.  Her mom informed me that my cousin had told her Girl Scout leader that her sister was going to college in Iowa this fall.
She knows I'm her cousin (and she won't hesitate to call me her favorite cousin), but I guess she gets overly excited about it sometimes.  But at the end of the day, whether you're cousins or sisters, if your heart's in it, it's all the same.  I love my cousin and she loves me.  Today, we're sisters.

Happy Sisters Day!  Go hug your sister.  Like I always say...

Friends will come and go, but sisters are forever.