Valentine’s Day, Sharing, Secrets, Sisters

Every morning on Valentine’s day, Kara and I would come downstairs on our way to school and find a Valentine’s day bag of stuff from mom. It was our special thing. Kara and I had a lot of special things, things that we did together, as sisters. Like on Christmas, mom and dad always made sure we had the same number of presents so we would be even. Kara and I had our special late night conversations before bed when we would tell each other our secrets. The kind of secrets you don’t tell anyone but your sister. Kara and I always had to share everything- the bathroom, the bed when we stayed in hotels, and sometimes we tried to share clothes. Having a sister is the greatest thing, it’s having this special person who is so close to you, you share a bond that you can’t share with anyone else. When Chris and Jason went away to college, I still had Kara. It was the two of use who still got to go on vacation with mom and dad and the two of us who stayed together through the years. We made up the “core family.” When Kara went away to college it was so hard, like a part of me was leaving, but I learned to deal with it. I learned to save my secrets for our phone conversations or for when I got to visit her. When she went to Africa it was even harder but we still managed. Visiting Kara in Africa brought us even closer, and we learned more about each other. I loved having a sister to share my life with. Sharing can be hard, but when you have a sister like Kara to share with, it’s the greatest thing. Now I try to share my life with Kara but it’s so hard. I still tell her my special secrets, but unfortunately I can’t hear her response. I know she’s listening but I just wish I could see her and hear her latest secrets. Kara, I love you and I love being your sister.