My Sister and Best Friend

This post has been in my head for a couple of weeks, now. When I first came across Flor Olivio's "Friends and Their Many Talents" link party at Florecity Growing Up, I thought, "What a great idea!" I wanted to participate but didn't know where to start or if my friends would give me permission to use their pictures. : )

I figured I'd worry about getting "permission" later and immediately attacked the dusty box of photographs under my bed (photographs that pre-date digital photography). In my search I came across a few surprises and found the perfect picture for this post.

It's one that was taken on the day of my wedding, of my baby sister, Alma, with my best-friend, Kayo. These two women I'm honored and blessed to call sister and friend. My sister for her fierce, but charming manner (that comes in handy in her line of work), and my friend, for being like a sister to me, these last thirty years. I love them both.

When I think of them, I'm flooded with memories: a homemade teddy bear with its arms sewn on backwards, an Isuzu Trooper backing into my car, dizzy spells one sweltering Fourth of July on the Esplanade in Cambridge, drive-bys, my first trip to Big Bear, several to Vegas, break-ups, showers, weddings, tears, laughter, failures, love ... forgiveness.

I honestly don't know how might've survived my twenties and thirties without their support and guidance. To be a sister is to be a friend, and to be a friend a sister. Thank you, Flor, for giving me the chance to talk about these two wonderful women.

[This is an edited repost. The original and comments were deleted during Blogger's hiccup last week.]