I carry your heart. I carry it in my heart.

Today is my sister's 25th birthday. I have been madly in love with my sister since the moment I knew that she was going to be born into our family. I was 8 when she was born and I had longed for a sibling for as long as I could remember. I'll never forget the first moment that I saw her. She was born 12 weeks premature and spent a few weeks in a incubator. At first we could only touch her through the holes in the sides. After a few weeks we could hold her. When she finally came home, I would take care of her for my mom sometimes and pretend that she was my own baby.

The feelings that I have for her are too deep to express almost. She is my friend, my sister, my daughter, my mother, my therapist all rolled into one. The greatest blessing I have been given is to have her living so close to me. I love sharing time with her. I love holding her daughter and sharing motherhood with her. I love her laugh and her smile and her tears and her cry. I have held her in my arms so many times when she has been weeping and she has done the same for me just as many times. She is my perfect compliment. She knows how I feel without me even having to say it.

Some things I never want to forget: walking to the park, the moment I saw her after she wrecked her car, her wedding day, going to mother/daughter events (or skipping them), how strong she was when Dad died, how great she is with my children, how the kids would mess up her room, how she would mess up my room, telling her first that I was engaged to Chris...and so many million other things that make up my love for her.

Anna, Happy Birthday! I love you so much. Thank you for your sisterhood and your friendship.