{"id":211,"date":"2008-07-04T05:27:26","date_gmt":"2008-07-04T12:27:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/silenceoftheclams.com\/blog\/archives\/211"},"modified":"2008-07-04T05:29:40","modified_gmt":"2008-07-04T12:29:40","slug":"my-seeeester","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/silenceoftheclams.com\/blog\/2008\/07\/my-seeeester\/","title":{"rendered":"My Seeeester"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"KristinToday, my\u00c2\u00a0little sister turns….\u00c2\u00a0 well, let’s just call it another year older<\/em>.<\/p>\n

She always has to share her birthday with that of our nation, but this year, I’m not celebrating Independence Day at all – today, it’s just<\/p>\n

Kristin’s birthday!<\/em>\u00c2\u00a0<\/h3>\n

Isn’t she cute as a 3 1\/2 year old?
\n(or was it 4 1\/2)<\/em>\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

Here are a few things you may or may not know about Kristin….<\/p>\n

\"KristinFirst, you’ll never find a more loyal friend<\/em>.\u00c2\u00a0 She’ll defend you to the end – but will also be your conscience, because she is, after all, the fairness police :)\u00c2\u00a0 It’s been a difficult struggle for her to recognize and accept that life just isn’t fair – because she wants it to be for EVERYONE!<\/p>\n

She used to be\u00c2\u00a0the\u00c2\u00a0responsibility police as well.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0But over time, I think she’s\u00c2\u00a0discovered life can be more enjoyable if we don’t take responsibility for others responsibility or lack thereof.\u00c2\u00a0 With age comes wisdom. \u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"OnKristin is generous to a fault<\/em> – as exhibited by her innumerable acts of thoughtfulness<\/em>.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 A card with a little cash hidden in the back, just because she knows you’ve hit a rough spot financially (never mind she might be too)….\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 cards and gifts sent off in time for every birthday or holiday, hours upon hours spent editing photos or videos to make a special surprise, finding ways to help pay for my trip to Hawaii with her when I couldn’t really afford it.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

As a teenager, I’d find sweet notes from her hidden in my room, or flown at me in the form of a paper airplane. \"goldmmbag.jpg\"I’d come home to discover a gold lame’ bag, filled with M&Ms on my pillow<\/em>…. Kristin spent her allowance money to do that – even though I teased her horribly, pretending I was going to drop her off the balcony (I suspect she actually enjoyed that game, knowing I wouldn’t REALLY drop her)<\/em> and making her sell popcicles with Chris for a measley reward. But this post is about Kristin, not me…<\/em><\/p>\n

\"KrisShe has always been a good sport<\/em> too.\u00c2\u00a0 Especially with her hair.\u00c2\u00a0 Whenever I’d get the itch to cut my long hair, she let me satisfy it by cutting hers instead.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 She’s had a lot of hairstyles over the years.<\/p>\n

And she’s been willing to indulge my silliness and cosmic musings in a way that only a sister can.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 She can be pretty silly herself<\/em>, though.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 We have an ongoing habit that if we ever go to a restaurant or store that takes your order\/reservation, and then says “could I get a name?” – the name they get is Guenivier<\/em>, which always draws strange looks.\u00c2\u00a0 I love seeing how they\u00c2\u00a0try to spell it. \u00c2\u00a0 Mind you they never ask, “could I get your<\/strong><\/em> name” – it’s always just a <\/em><\/strong>name… so we feel no obligation to give them ours.<\/p>\n

\"SexyShe has always been there <\/em>to help with the really hard stuff, whenever I’ve needed her and when no one else showed up (or even if they did).<\/em>\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

Stuff like apartment hunting, packing\/ hauling\/ unpacking for multiples moves, painting houses, cleaning out houses, drafting divorce and child support agreements, working til 2am (hours after everyone else had left) to help me\u00c2\u00a0hang a hundred butterflies from the church ceiling\/arrange huge trees to create the perfect “enchanted forest” for Ashley’s wedding, working her butt off in the kitchen during the reception (along with mom, bart and grandma)<\/em> because the stupid R.S. ladies who committed to be there didn’t show up.\u00c2\u00a0 I could NOT have pulled off Ashley’s wedding without her.<\/em><\/p>\n

Kristin is smart as a whip <\/em>– though she didn’t realize it til far too late in her life.\u00c2\u00a0 She is a talented writer, a whiz with numbers, and can turn ANYTHING into a chart or graph that will blow your socks off.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 She’s really quite brilliant.\u00c2\u00a0 And, I’m so happy that she shares my disdain for “tacky forms” – and recognizes the importance of a well laid out newsletter or webpage.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

AND – even better, she’s a total wordnerd<\/strong>!<\/p>\n

\"KristinOh, and along with this smart thing – she’s ORGANIZED<\/em>. I have made a pie chart graphic in her honor. As she has said many times: A man without a plan is not a man…. (I, apparently, am not a man)<\/em>.<\/p>\n

She thinks ahead<\/em>, when we travel she provides these incredible checklists to make sure we don’t forget anything. When we traveled to Hawaii together for the first time, over a period of a couple months she emailed a history of the islands, information about the culture, just stuff to make sure the trip was all it could possibly be.\u00c2\u00a0 She’s just very considerate<\/em>, including sharing the benefits of her organizational skills with all – and I really appreciate it.<\/p>\n

\"Kristin<\/a>She’s also got a great sense of humor <\/em>and we do our fair share of laughing when we’re together.\u00c2\u00a0 And we seem to keep her kids amused.<\/p>\n

Speaking of which, she’s also a great mom<\/em>, and has raised (is raising) two incredible smart, gifted, thoughtful, respectful, fun kids. She’s instilled in them the understanding that they can trust their own feelings and judgement – that they are capable of making wise decisions – and they do. A devoted companion to Craig, I think he’d tell you she’s the perfect wife for him. \u00c2\u00a0She starts planning months in advance for a birthday, anniversary or Christmas gift for him – to make sure it is something thoughtful, unique and meaningful.
\n\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \"The<\/p>\n

\"Kristin<\/a>She can be tough and strong and put you in your place if you’re out of line… it’s the Marine in her. Yes, a Marine<\/em>. (“I can make<\/strong> you handicapped if you want to park there legally….”)<\/em>\u00c2\u00a0 She’s also sensitive, compassionate and tenderhearted. I’m grateful she was able to attend to our mom\/grandma during the last couple of weeks of my grandmother’s life. I know it was really hard for her – both physically and emotionally – but she never complained and turned it into a beautiful experience.<\/p>\n

\"Sisters<\/a>We share more private jokes than one could possible count. She’s been my travel companion, commiserator, emotional counselor, technical support, fellow photo fanatic, partner in crime, conscience, cheerleader, moral support and best friend for longer than I can remember. And, honestly, I don’t know how I would have survived many of my life experiences without her. I’m so glad I didn’t have to find out….<\/p>\n

Love you – happy birthday!<\/p>\n

P.S. Let’s plan another trip!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today, my\u00c2\u00a0little sister turns….\u00c2\u00a0 well, let’s just call it another year older. She always has to share her birthday with that of our nation, but this year, I’m not celebrating Independence Day at all – today, it’s just Kristin’s birthday!\u00c2\u00a0 Isn’t she cute as a 3 1\/2 year old? (or was it 4 1\/2)\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Here … Continue reading My Seeeester<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-211","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-familyfriends","category-reminiscing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/silenceoftheclams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/silenceoftheclams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/silenceoftheclams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silenceoftheclams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silenceoftheclams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=211"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/silenceoftheclams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/silenceoftheclams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=211"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silenceoftheclams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=211"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/silenceoftheclams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=211"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}