wild child

today is my sister R's birthday.  happy birthday!

R has always been the bold one.  fearless.  at first glance, you probably wouldn't guess this, since she's a tiny person.  but she can certainly make a big splash.

when we were younger, my mother enrolled us both in gymnastics.  my sister was much more excited about this activity than i was, because she had no problems with tumbles and flips or utilizing any of the equipment.  although we were in separate classes based on our age group (which determined level of difficulty), it wasn't long before she had aced everything and would hang around my class to cure her boredom.  soon, she had become an honorary student in my class, the youngest and smallest, but able to climb like a little monkey and jump like a baby kangaroo.  and it took me the entire length of the course to do a cartwheel on a balance beam.

growing up, she would do things her way.  she would go after what she wanted, never thinking twice, jumping right in.  she tried out for the basketball team.  she made friends on the first day of school after we moved (with a girl who, not surprisingly, is still her best friend).  for someone like me, who liked to blend into the background, she was who i would look to for the latest fads or trends.  but i would also look to her for courage, because she seemed to hold the key to adventure and a place free of worry.  and i constantly craved for alittle less responsibility, even though it was against my nature to do so.

what i've come to realize is that R ultimately helped me pave my own way.  seeing her face things head-on gave me strength and resolve.  even when she wasn't so sure of herself, she appeared confident.  which meant i could be too.  i could do things that scared me, especially when it involved her.  prime example: when she was in sixth grade and relentlessly taunted by a bully at a neighbor's house, i marched across the street and gave that girl a piece of my mind.  i was shaking.  and i knew R probably could have eventually handled it on her own.  but i wanted that girl to know i had my sister's back.

because i'm sure my sister will always have mine.

me at age 4.. ecstatic to have a sister.

can you guess which one she is??