Last year, two of my favorite people spent the month of November remembering the things they were grateful for, and posted daily, or nearly so, the things they were grateful for.
I admit, I was jealous of their good idea, but I didn't want to jump on the gratitude bandwagon. (Silly, no?)
BUT! It's a brand new November! And because I want to document my blessings, I'm jumping on with full force!
Or as much as I can get. I know I'm going to be busy, but I think that it will be marvelous to reflect on and share my blessings. It's a habit I need to get into, anyway.
So today, I'll do an easy one. I am grateful for my sister. She has already written her entry for today. And I'm copy-catting. (Just like old times, right Mar?)
But Marilyn has taught me so much. She has had a rough go of life. Things just don't always seem to go her way, but she just keeps trucking along. And she has always shared what she learns with me.
She watches out for me, and always has.
May I share a few memories of Marilyn??
When I was little, I drove her nuts! But one thing I loved were our sleepovers. I don't think that we had many of them, but I cherished each time she'd let me into her room (which was forbidden to me) to spend time with her. If I remember correctly, she would bribe me with these sleepovers to get me to stop doing something that was annoying. I'm pretty sure she still owes me, like... 50,000.
As we grew older, we became friends. And Marilyn started doing wonderful things for me. She'd give me her advice, and share some of the things that were hard on her or for her. She helped me learn to care about other people. And she was there for me when I got down.
Once, not long after our parents separated, I got really sad and upset. This ended with me crying inside my closet. I guess I was crying loudly enough for her to hear me, because she came in and helped me feel better. It wasn't what she said to me, but the fact that she came in my room to comfort me that mattered. What I didn't understand was that at the time, Marilyn was going through Depression. I mean, I knew she was, but I didn't understand what that meant. But despite all that she was facing, she still made time to look out for me.
And every now and again, once Marilyn had a job, we'd go out to lunch-- her treat. We'd walk down a few blocks to Alforno's Italian restaurant. She'd get ravioli, and I'd get the caesar salad. We'd delight in breadsticks. We'd laugh and have a grand old time.
She always steps in to help me out whenever I'll let her.
She is everything a big sister should be.
Thanks, Marilyn. I love you.
2 comments:
Awwww.... Let me see if I can manage to type through my tears. You're so sweet. I wasn't really that nice of a sister. I was pretty impatient (hence the bribery, and yeah I think I do owe you quite a few sleep overs...). But I love you too. Once you stopped being annoying, or more likely once I became mature enough to realize you're amazing and NOT annoying (usually), you have been my best friend. I've layed some pretty heavy stuff on you, but you have always been there for me. Sometimes you sympathize and sometimes you tell me what an idiot I am for wallowing in my misery. It's usually exactly what I need. I just realized I'm spoiling my upcoming "Thankful for Karen post". Oh well, there's plenty more where that came from!!!
What a sweet tribute to your wonderful sis!
I loved reading this entry. You girls make me smile. I am grateful for both of you.
I am glad that you have jumped on the bandwagon! Truthfully, last year I was hoping you would join me as well.
I am so excited to see what you will write about this month!
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