I have three fabulous siblings. They all have there wonderful qualities and I could write for hours about all of them. But I would like to give some special acknowledgement to my sister, Sarah.
She is totally my hero! I may be the older sister, but I have learned so much about being a good wife, a good mother, a good friend, and a good sister by watching her. For those that don't know Sarah, let me introduce you.
Sarah is three years younger than me, but has always been one of my best friends. We rarely, if ever, fought growing up. And even though I am sure I thought she was annoying when I was a teenager, I was so happy when she came to Grand Valley with me, and I will always treasure the time we spent growing up and going to school together. These days she is a mother of three, she writes a column for the local newspaper, and maintains their household in the most organized and well run way, a way that I can only envy!
But let me tell you what I have learned from her.
I have learned to be selfless. Sarah gives and gives to her family. Whenever I call her, she is off running errands for her family, going to playgroups so her children are well socialized (not that my nieces and nephew could be anything else....they are AWESOME!), or taking on cookie mom duty for her daughter's Girl Scout troop (I tried, I told her to plead insanity and give it back). Every time I walk into her house, it is tidy and clean. And, she has modified dinners for her family, so that they can all eat the same thing.
Here is why. My adorable nephew and godson is allergic to just about everything. You name it, he's probably allergic to it. At least all the main stuff. Milk, soy, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, etc. For the first three months of life, he was so itchy. We all felt so bad that he would rub and rub his face on your shoulder trying to scratch. When it was finally diagnosed as food allergies, Sarah was nursing and had to cut everything out of her diet. Anything he was allergic to, she didn't eat. For like....almost a year. And then came the challenge of feeding him food. And Sarah does such a good job, she has adapted so many meals that their family eats that are allergy friendly, or there is a quick and easy substitution. For example, the spaghetti sauce she makes is friendly for all and she just has to make special noodles for my nephew. Every time there is a family get together, or the family wants to go out to eat, Sarah has to make and take special food for her son. All of this is reason to give her Mother of the Century (and I mean that with all sincerity), but there is more......She does this all without complaint. Seriously. And quite frankly, she has every reason to complain. Every now and then I expect her to just say she is tired of it all, that it sucks that her precious little guy will never have a peanut butter sandwich, that she is tired of always having to be worried about what he will come in contact with. But she never, ever does. From the time he was diagnosed, Sarah accepted it as a fact of life and figured out how to cope. She is always researching and trying to find new things to make that the whole family can eat (cookies, breads, puppy chow). Whatever she can do to make his life, and those of her other children, as normal as possible. I love her! She is A-MAY-ZING!
On top of all of that, she has a caring and sensitive heart. Over the last month, as my family has been through some difficult times, Sarah was always there to listen. To care. She has been sympathetic and understanding. I have always known that if I needed someone to listen, I could call her. I have other friends and family that have been wonderful, too, but Sarah has been my rock, as I have tried to be for my family. She is my inspiration, and some day, I hope to be half the women she is, because that would be a great accomplishment.
I love you, Sarah.
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