Well Blended

I am from a blended family. There has been ups and downs to this but the ups outweigh the downs. I love my family. My parents married when I was 3 and my sister was 2. Kelsi and I were only children being raised by single parents. Kelsi spent alot of time with her(our) Kirkhart grandparents. I spent alot of time with my(our) Whisenhunt grandparents. So to be thrown into a world of sharing parents, grandparents, and toys with another child eleven months younger than me was chaotic to say the least. Our house was full of arguments, tattletaling, and random biting attacks(which usually drew blood and was always returned in the days following). My mom has told me the only time Kelsi and I stood united was when we were rebelling against her. Although she wasn't exactly thrilled about this she was always happy to see us working together and happily spending time with one another. I know we sound like brats, but we were sort of thrown into the opposite of divorce(which we are both very grateful for). I remember Kelsi and I being upset with each other. I also remember when we started really becoming sisters, laughing and playing like sisters or even friends. I'm not sure what exactly changed(maybe the birth of our brother) but life with a sister just got easier. From then on we were partners in crime, we shared secrets, and played in our own world. There was still arguing but this was more typical of siblings not archenemies. It's funny to think back and then look at where our relationship has gone since then. In high school we still shared secrets. The kind that could be used as blackmail. Though neither of us dare start that tattletale war in fear of what the other might share about them. We would seek advice from one another. We were pretty close. Then, I graduated and moved to Alva. We still talked but sorta drifted apart. With the closing of Kelsi's senior year came her last basketball game. She loved this sport and was really good. She was pretty upset after her last game. She had dedicated a good portion of her school years and summers to it since junior high. So I talked her and my parents into letting her come to Alva with me. It was great. I had my friend back. We started talking alot more. She moved to Alva the next August. We talked everyday, had lunch usually twice a week, watched movies, went out, and on special occasions even studied together. She had a key to my house and I always kept her favorite drinks and food at my house. Some of my favorite memories were her calling after work and asking me to make her dinner. We would chat while I cooked. Usually I made her brown sugar and pineapple ham. I always had everything on hand because this was her most requested dish. I think of her everytime I make it to this day. When I would have dinner parties she was always there helping, running to the store, cutting, mixing. Whatever would help me get it all together in time. When I decided to move to Weatherford I figured she would be against it. To my suprise she backed me up. I don't think she liked it but she just wanted me to be happy. She went home with me to tell my parents. I was going to be moving in with a boy which was pretty taboo for our family. She reassured me our parents would come around. She helped me pack and move. She always answered my two in the morning phone calls after the move. While I was crying telling her how lonely I was,what a big mistake I'd made she always made me feel better. She made several trips to visit and raise my spirits. We even got similar sister tattoos tegether. The first for us both. With our parents anniversary '2-10-90' marking the day we became sisters. More recently she made me promise not to have her neices until she was back from her trip from Idaho. I did. I went into early labor the day after she got home. Knowing it would cut her already small paycheck down even more she took another day off to drive four hour to be there. During her two week visit before her move to Idaho, I wondered outloud if Raiden had got a certain physical feature from her. Breaking my gaze on my tiny baby I looked up to see Kelsi busting into laughter. As she reminded me there was no way that could be it made me realize I had forgot she was not my blood sister. She has been the best sister I could have ever asked for. From graduating in three in a half years, her hardworking dedicated attitude, to being a great friend, and her upcoming marriage she makes me proud to be able to say, ''that's my sister''. I love and miss you Kelsi! Happy early birthday!