Uhh Uhh Hoooppy Birtday

Today is my amazing sister's birthday. She is the reason I even consider having another baby...the opportunity to possibly give my Cassidy the beautiful gift of a sister. Bridget is the greatest friend. She is beautiful, courageous, unpretentious, genuine, guileless, spiritual, funny (so funny!), accepting, and unafraid.

When we were kids, she was always trying to snuggle and smother me with love (which I truly couldn't stand as a kid!). I was uncomfortable with all the mooshy affection--which only fueled her fire to squeeze in one more forced hug. She's always been a lover of a girl. Her sensitive, tender ways haven't always yielded the best outcomes for her but now pay off big for her as a parent. Her children will never question the love she has for them.

When I became a pear-shaped pre-teen and she was the slender, gorgeous adolescent I remember going to her room to cry to her about my body insecurities. She didn't hesitate to drop whatever she was doing (talking on the phone, daydreaming to Kost 103.5, writing in her journal, or planning which baggy jeans and bodysuit she'd wear to school the next day) to give me a pep talk and loving advice.

We've both had our reason along the way to live parallel lives, but these last few years we have become soul sistahs. We have no jealousy between us. I always know she wants the best for me and I her. When we aren't laughing our way through the craziness that is motherhood (visualize Jason's once-silent, slide-into-home tantrums or Cassidy's order-barking from the bed to deliver juice, popcorn and/or candy stat), we are sharing tender moments and finishing each other's sentences. We see each other almost every day. She's got my back (and she's just the cholita you want in your corner, yo). I love her more than molten chocolate cake, long random (and sometimes unsavory) trips to Ross and the 'Maxx, walks around El Pecker Park, and even a labor-inducing deep-fried Twinkie. Happy Birthday, my wonderful Biddy!