Give Thanks...Remembering A Sister On Her Birthday

When it comes to birthdays, some are bigger than others. I know 50 is a huge birthday, but for some reason, 55 seems to be like a big one to me. It's a fun one to send birthday wishes to friends on social media. I call it the "Double Nickel Club."

Corny, I know...

Today, my sister would have turned 55. She passed just over a year and a half ago. It's strange...almost everyone has been affected recently by a friend, acquaintance, or family member passing away much too soon. I suppose that's always happened. Young people unfortunately pass away. My father didn't make it to 50 for example. We all know someone who died young.

The funny thing is, if my sister were still with us, I know I'd send her a "Happy birthday" social media message, but would I go to her house and celebrate in person? Would I go further and actually buy her a present? My guess is I would not. I say this because when she was with us, we didn't gather, we didn't exchange gifts.

Missed opportunities...

That can never be reclaimed.

I'm grateful I had 53 years with my sister. Like all of us, she was kind and sweet and flawed and fierce and wonderful. I miss her still.

Happy, Birthday, Sis! Welcome to the Double Nickel Club.

Missing My Sister...On Her Birthday

 It's strange how you cannot know the future, no matter what some may say or think. In May of last year, we gathered as a family at the cemetery, a tradition we've done every year for decades. We didn't know a year later, instead of visiting just my parent's graves, we'd be visiting my sister's grave, too.

Today's her birthday, the first those of us left behind will experience without her. 

In the little more than a half century I've been on this planet, I've lost parents, cousins, uncles, aunts, close friends, and now a sibling. I know dying as as much a part of life as being born, but it's strange still on this side while others are on the other.

It's a new reality for our family, spouse missing a spouse, children missing a mother, grandkids missing a grandma, friends missing a friend, brothers missing a sister. 

We began with five of us, dad, mom, and three little kids. We lost our patriarch shortly after we three kids joined the group. We then went more than thirty years before we had to plan a funeral. In those thirty-plus years, we never knew when our visit to the cemetery would be the same or different from year to year.

It's my sister's birthday today. We are missing her today, as we have since she passed. And we'll continue missing her every single day.

Happy Birthday, Sis! Here's A Pirate Ditty...Again!

I've only got two siblings--for Utah, that's a low number. Only having two siblings means it's easy to remember their birthdays. Today is my sister's birthday. I wanted to give her a "Happy birthday" message on social media.

But she beat me to it.

Five years ago, in the summer, I was involved in a community theater production of Peter Pan. It's interesting because this summer I was involved in another community theater production of Peter Pan. Once again, I played a pirate (Jukes, this time, not Checco...). There were several of us in both shows, same director, same choreographer, same great time.

My sister shared with me a video I originally shared with her on her birthday five years ago. I thought it would be fun to let you all see it. But be warned...for some reason the recording sounds terrible on the blog post. I mean, we weren't trying to sound good, but we definitely sounded better than that. If you can't stand to let the video finish, I completely understand.

We did a good show, five years ago. I remember our pirate band--we were a jolly lot. For fun, I had a few of us record a "happy birthday" song for my sister. One of the pirates, the one closest to me, is no longer with us. It's a shame, for many reasons, one of which is patrons no longer can see him entertain on the stage, and another is we are unable to have Parker Hedin as a fellow cast member. I sure miss him. Like I said, a terrible shame.

But, on a happier note, it's my sister's birthday (I won't tell you how many she's had...). Happy birthday! I hope it was wonderful, and I hope it's the beginning of your best year ever! Love you, sis!