MY SISTER DIANE

Today is Thankful Thursday, and my sister Diane's birthday. It seemed soo obvious of course to take advantage of this time and try to express just how grateful I have always been for this special woman in my life. I decided to just re-post last year’s blog I wrote for her as it expresses so well my relationship and feelings for her. This year we spent a very similar day together as always, but we did it on Wed., as snow is expected in the mountains today where she lives ~ nothing important has changed ~ and so here it is....

Her hair looks soo good in this pic., and she STILL has the best blue eyes....

I spent today like I have spent countless others in my life....hanging out with Di..

Over the years I am quite sure I have spent more time with Diane than with almost anyone else I know with the exception of course of my husband and kids. Growing up a mere 18 months apart made us experience so many of life's adventures and roads together....From the time we were just little girls playing with our dolls as we pretended to be Sally and Gummy, (though neither of us was actually ever really Gummy haha) hundreds of games of house, paper dolls, school with our "cards", skating, bikes (which were identical) house boat when we were supposed to be in bed sleeping, and our years and years of Barbie’s, 4 square on summer nights, hide and go seek, Petticoat Junction on a hot summer night with a pop in a tin glass in our own little den...we were always together. As we grew into our teen years there were hundreds more memories that were made. How many dances and football games and "boy" involved experiences did we live through together?  How many hours and hours and hours did we spend hashing and chewing and scheming and planning how and who we might spend our lives with...I could never count them up. I remember going to Bob's Big Boy and having pie and a cup of coffee and thinking life couldn't get much better. Now we had our share of fights to be sure. We were close enough in age to steal each other's clothes, make up, hair brushes and curlers....we had to "share" a record player and records which led to many a fight...haha But for the most part, I remember way more times when there just wasn't anything better than a sister who was also a best friend.

We married within 3 months of each other (serving as maid of honor for each other) and began our years of "hanging out" as young, VERY POOR, haha, married couples. How many games of cards, Monopoly, Melbourne and Sorry do you suppose we played?  Too many to count that's for sure. Disneyland, Knott’s Berry Farm, Sea World, Universal Studios, while rare were usually gone to together with our little families. Camping trips and vacations were also experienced and enjoyed. We decorated and rearranged each other houses on practically a daily basis. haha  As our families grew and demanded more of our attention and focus we maybe didn't spend as much time together, but we were always there for each other. Our phone bills (back when long distance was an issue) were orbital, but there really was no stopping us from our daily hashes.

As our kids have grown and married and we've become grandmothers, we are STILL sharing each other’s similar life's experiences. Now we search for reading glasses, pop Tums when we've eaten something spicy, limp after we've sat too long as our knees and hips are stiff, and chew for hours on the wonder and cuteness of our grand kids...We still can hash for hours over a bunch of mindless nothing on the phone, laugh hysterically over a movie or some other "private" joke, hash the books we've read and enjoy a meal together. Yes, Diane for me has always been much more than just a sister...she's been my BEST girl friend, and I will always be grateful that God made us a mere 18 months apart and I've known the blessing of having her FOREVER in my life....HAPPY BIRTHDAY DI....and may the Lord bless and keep you always.

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