Our Little "Surprise"

It was 49 years ago.......earlier in the year....the announcement was made at our dinner table that my brother, at age 17, and I, at age 11, were going to be treated to a family addition. No, not a pet....a real, live human being. We were going to have another sibling in the house. We never gave another family member a thought.....until that day. Well, 49 years ago yesterday, our little sister was born. My days as the youngest were over....I was the now the "middle" child. Little did I know how blessed that day would be. She was the happiest, sweetest little one. I was, pretty much, the "big" brother at home since my big brother headed off to college. She was with me just about everywhere even that day that my friends taught her, as she put it, "some new bad words" while watching us play basketball in our driveway. I watched her excel in gymnastics at age 6......and 7 ....and 8.....and then I went off to college. From there it's been a blur but she has grown up to be one of the strongest people I know. Life threw her a number of curveballs but, like the patient hitter, she handled it all. I couldn't be prouder of anyone. Happy Birthday to my little sister.