Sisters

My Grammy likes to tell the story of when my second brother was born. My middle brother and I were staying with her, and my dad called to announce my mom had a little boy. Grammy told me this, and according to legend, I pouted, proclaiming that I had really wanted a sister. Trying to cheer me up, she told me "But now you're special because you're the only girl!" to which I retorted "I would have been special anyway!"

Anyone who knows me knows I have fantastic relationships with my brothers, and that I also have female cousins who are very much like sisters to me. But still, I never had anyone I could actually refer to as "my sister."

Then when I was almost 30, my middle brother decided that friendship with a special girl wasn't enough. They began dating and married within a year, and I suddenly had someone I could call "sister." In talking about her, the words "my sister" rolled off my tongue so easy that I typically drop "-in-law". But the title is nothing compared to actually having this woman in my life. She is full of kindness and has a wicked sense of humor. She sees my brother for everything he is and loves him senselessly (but still laughs about his quirks with me). She gave me my beautiful niece Ruth, and supported me so much in those first weeks with my daughter.

This past summer, that youngest brother I'd wished was a sister proposed to a girl he'd been dating only a few months. We were all a little surprised, but very happy. She sees him for him, but has this loving respect for him that was missing in past relationships. She loves his giving nature without taking advantage of it.  She has eagerly plunged into getting to know the family. As a bonus, she and my husband have already formed a mock-sibling-rivalry friendship.  Our sibling group was never going to be totally complete until the youngest found his match, and now she is here.

Both of these special women grew up with only sisters, so having my husband and whichever brother they aren't marrying is more novel for them, but to me, they are each a special gift I have waited my whole life for!