"She's about this high- She's taller than I-
Sometimes she helps me tie me shoe. She's
my sister. And she plays with me ...la la la
la la" (I don't remember the exact words here.)
This is the song that my sister Toni and I would
sing with arms around shoulders when we were little.
I clearly remember singing it for my Grandparents on
both sides of the family and I think we were persuaded to
sing it for others as well. Just thinking about it makes me
laugh because the tune is hilarious. I wish I had a recording.
I have always looked up to Toni. She sang a solo in the
elementary school Christmas program. She always got the
lace tablecloth to play Miss America, and I got the blue
checkered one. She actually looked cute in stretch pants with
stirrups on the bottom. She wore Dad's old football jersey to bed.
She was always tan. She introduced me to Birkenstocks. She
had cute handwriting. And she got a Trapper Keeper for her
ninth birthday. If only I could portray my jealousy about the
Trapper Keeper. I actually think Zack Morris had a similar one on
Saved by the Bell.
There's more.
I look up to Toni because she is kind. She is a noble mother. She
will sacrifice anything for what is right. She serves me in ways only a sister can. She has always looked life square in the eye and met the challenges with faith. She believes and knows good will win. When Ethan, her second son, was born, I remember a part of his blessing. He was told that he should "look to his Mother and stay close to her because there was much to learn from her, and she would help him know what to do." I still remember that phrase because it was another time in my life when I was so glad she was my sister. Now she will be the mother of a fourth little boy, and I know he will be as blessed to call her Mom.
Toni's Birthday is today.
(Another reason why I was jealous of her. She could have summer Birthday parties OUTSIDE. I learned when I was about seven that no matter what I did, my Birthday would always be in November.)
I want to tell her that I love her, and I will always look up to her. Even though that song we sang when we were little was CHEESEY, and we laugh about it now, there is a line that I still love to sing, and that is, "She's my sister."
Happy Birthday Toni-
Love, Your Sister
