Happy Birthday, Sissy!

It’s hard to think that it's been 13 years since this picture was taken on your first day of Senior Year- and we actually like each other now!  And you’re the one borrowing clothes from me! And I'm taller!

In all seriousness, it has been inspiring and challenging to me to watch you grow into the amazing woman, friend, scholar, wife and mother you are today at 30.  Not challenging in a bad way, but in the best of ways.  I was afraid that following in your footsteps to Valpo would forever label me as “Liz’s little sister” but since the campus is always changing, and none of the nursing professors also teach English, I was rarely known as such.  More importantly I learned early on during my time there that being known as that wasn’t a bad thing, but something that pushed me to be a better writer, student, and friend, because that was the reputation you left behind.

Since then, it’s been so fun to watch you build your own life for yourself, full of things you love and hold dear- regardless of how much work it meant for you.  Your work ethic and determination still inspire me, and there are often days I have to “channel my inner Liz” to complete the task ahead of me (which mostly means being confrontational.)  I’ve said it before, but watching you love and rear Nora over the last ten months has made me so proud- you learned early on that for her to be happy and healthy, her mama had to be happy and healthy and you refuse to let others’ expectations and judgments of you change the way you see yourself.

So thank you for paving the way for me- at WLHS, Valpo and beyond, following in your footsteps hasn’t always been easy, but it has been rewarding.  Thanks for breaking down the barriers so that I can follow, but choose my own path in doing so, and thank you for supporting me as I make the decisions that will hopefully someday lead me to becoming a woman who, like you, can look back on my twenties with pride.  (in six years… let’s face it- you’re old now.)