Today, my younger sister and I are both 59. Her birthday was yesterday, and tomorrow, I will officially be a year older. The day in between our birthdays has always seemed special to me—a pocket of time that holds many cherished memories.
Siblings born within twelve months of each other are sometimes referred to as Irish twins. Since we have a fair amount of Irish in our blood, it fits. We look a lot alike. Have many of the same mannerisms, and our voices even sound similar. She has blue eyes. I have brown eyes. She’s mostly worn her hair long through the years, while I keep my shoulder-length or shorter.
I am the middle child. Our older sister, who has always been six years ahead, continues to blaze a trail into the unknown territory of growing older. She holds a wealth of wisdom in natural foods and remedies, as well as spirituality. I find her fascinating, and as a younger sister, I still love her style—from the clothes she wears to the soap and shampoo she uses.
Being so close in age, my younger sister and I share many of the same childhood memories—doing the same things, going the same places, sharing the same friends, and even sharing the same birthday celebration, on the day in between.
It seems strange to me that with all that’s happened in my life, and all the years lived in between, the seemingly insignificant childhood moments remain so strong in my memory. During a time when I was wishing the time away, wanting to be older, taller, prettier, smarter, faster…life happened. And as it turns out, it was the little things that mattered—the magic of a castle cake, a birthday dress, a Halloween costume, an 8-track tape of Bob Seger’s Hollywood Nights, a stuffed dolphin I got at Sea World, an embroidered denim shirt my grandmother made, and a million other things.
Life is so full of wonder and surprise at every turn. As I look back through my childhood memories, they continue to flourish and develop deeper layers of love and understanding that I didn’t have then. I’m still like that little girl with big dreams in her pocket. However, I see the value in savoring the moment and making things special. Because now I know—the little things really do matter.
The Tin Man by Trisha Leone She had a smile from ear to ear Standing tall in her black and white saddle shoes Specks of silver paint in her hair And a sparkle in her baby blues And while the kitchen table was still covered in glue She had become someone new She was a paper-mâché work of art Looked like she walked right out of a storybook In a California suburb on a Halloween night She made her way through the neighborhood A tiny tin man with an oversized heart Who’d give you the world if she could Chorus And everybody knows how the story goes How what we don’t have, is what we want most And we spend our time chasing something we had all along Searching for love, coming up empty handed Missing the one who’s standing right beside us If our hearts had eyes we’d see, that love is all we need And there’s a tin man out there who keeps me believing In fairy tales and childhood dreams You can be anything that you want to be There’s a yellow brick road that leads To all the far away places you want to see Everyone has a heart that beats Just because you can see it doesn’t mean anything That costume is long gone But I’ll never forget that night When the great big heart of one little girl Made a tin man come to life
Listen to the song Tin Man below or on Bandcamp
Sisters are so special! I love reading about your family. I hope you had a wonderful birthday, and your sister, too!!!