Sisters, Sisters

"I'm so lucky to have such a fun sister like you!" If that isn't the ultimate compliment, then by golly tell me what is!

My sister, Caroline, is 10. She is the only child (besides our dog) that is still at home with my parents. My brother and I are just a short drive down the road; 30 minutes down the freeway to Seattle (me) and another 30 minutes to Tacoma (him). I'd say as a family we all got a pretty good deal out of the whole in-state college thing. My parents are welcome to come visit either of us at any time, and we have the luxury of being able to go home when our schedules allow.

As wonderful as it is that my family is able to spend a good amount of time together, I have come to understand the importance of building a personal relationship with my sister, just us two. Now that I am graduated and living with only 6 girls (as opposed to 15...) I am better able to devote time and have the space to entertain her. 

One of the most wonderful things about loving someone is that, oftentimes, just being in their presence is enough. While Caroline and I surely had some adventures over the weekend when she stayed the night with me in Seattle, even just sitting in my room and reading our books in silence was ok by us. 12 years may separate us in age, but at our core, our interests are roughly the same. Caroline is beyond her years, and I still feel a connection to many things I enjoyed in my childhood, making it easy to find things we enjoy doing together. Our Sunday night included seeing Monsters, Inc. in 3-D at the $3 theater, snapping iPhone pics of ourselves, painting our toenails neon colors with heavy glitter overlay, and making a 10 PM trip to Target, the result of which was becoming the proud owner of a Hello Kitty air-popper popcorn machine. 

In the morning I surprised Caroline with a trip to Pike Place Market. Saying that she and I both love farmer's markets is an understatement. We watched rustic men sling fish while she ate a giant pickle from the old-fashioned jar at DeLaurenti, and I sipped on an Americano from the original Starbucks. For lunch we sat at the glass window of the Crumpet Shop, watching a man cut away excess dough from crumpets freshly pulled from a giant oven. We made our treats last as long as we could; me with my crumpet topped with ricotta and raspberry preserves, and Caroline with her apple cinnamon piroshky. Our efforts were further prolonged when I took a bite of her pickle, its juice flying in spout-like fashion over her head and onto the glass, causing a bellowing laugh from the man sitting next to us, and the need for more than a couple paper napkins. We made friends with the man selling jazz apples on the corner, who I think through his witty banter was trying to sell more than just apples to me. Caroline showed her love for everything truffled as we sampled many things flavored by those extraordinary little fungi. 

As if her sophisticated taste for truffle wasn't enough to stun me, Caroline remarked how the jewelry in the antique shop was so very Lady Mary and Downton Abbey-like. We picked out our favorite engagement rings from the 1920s, and oogled over diamonds and fabulous costume jewelry. Walking along the pier, Caroline enjoyed salt water taffy from a brown paper bag as we guarded ourselves with our down coats against the sea breeze and watched the ferris wheel turn. 

Most importantly, we laughed...at everything. I think people thought we were a bit ridiculous. We were just amused by ourselves and enjoying being together. More than once we were asked by vendors how we knew each other. The formality and ignorance of people astounds me. "What do we live for but to make sport for our neighbors, and laugh at them in our turn?" Wise words from Mr. Bennett of Pride & Prejudice, and exactly the aim of these two sisters. All we cared about was sharing the little world we created between the two us.

We're not lucky; we're blessed, yes.