My Baby

Many years ago Terri Lynn (we don't call her that any more and you'd be wise not to call her that either) made me a Big Sister. She had a fuzzy head, big blue eyes, and really sharp teeth. She was kinda like my very own baby doll come to life -- except for the really sharp teeth.

A few years down the road Sister acquired a vicious biting habit and I have a scar on the knuckle of my left thumb that I attribute to those really sharp teeth. Although at our advanced age I no longer have a clear memory of the actual biting incident, if in fact there was one. But that's my story and I'm stickin' with it. Anyway, she eventually decided teeth were more useful for eating cold hard sticks of butter from the fridge.

Sister had a customized tricyle we called the "Broom Broom" upon which she first perfected the amazing driving skills she continues to demonstrate to this day. A recent automotive adventure nearly had her resorting to the Flintstone-style locomotion of her childhood. She may or may not tell you about it.

When I started kindergarten I became too cool to play with babies and, sadly, I spent many of our school years alternately defending her from neighborhood bullies (yes, I'm looking at you Bobby McLean) and ditching her altogether.

During those years she learned, among other things, to cook and crochet and cross stitch. Sister became an excellent babysitter in her own right. Then she grew up to marry a musician and they made beautiful babies of their very own.

Now she is a fiber/textile/needlework artist. She shares her love of color with every creation she gifts to family and friends, and she teaches quilting classes whenever the occasion permits. I wish I had pictures to show you of the twenty-some quilt tops she currently has pieced and ready to sandwich. This picture of the "Dashing Off to Court" blankie she made for me about 10 years ago doesn't adequately represent her prodigious talent, but it will have to suffice:

Sister inherited the gene for choosing gifts that are exactly right and I must have been behind the door when they were handing that one out. Nevertheless:

Happy Birthday Baby Sister! I love you BIG.