No! I Didn't Forget... I Just Let Myself Get Terribly Distracted... ... For Over a Month

My *little* sister Faithy's birthday was 21 July. Since I've given birthday tributes to my four siblings whose birthdays were earlier in the year, I can't stop now and decided I had better catch up (especially now that we're in September - the month of two more siblings' birthdays).

First of all - Happy, happy belated birthday Faithy!

Second of all - here are some memories of mine over the last... 26 years or so:

i remember that you "got the part because [you] were the loudest!"
i remember that we loved to wear twirly skirts and twirl around the family room
i remember you sitting on and breaking the mirror (:
i remember creating a "code" we used for communicating between the wall
*are you there, yes i'm here, okay, okay, bye, bye*
i remember writing the code down on the chalkboard so we would remember it
i remember ben i. and ben r. and larry g.
i remember you got to sing sister margaretta's (sp?) part - even though that was the part i wanted (mostly because i thought her name was the prettiest), i was glad that you got it

i remember being so grateful that i had a sister just one year younger than i every time we went to a new school
i remember that you weren't embarrassed to let your older sister hang out with you
i remember you telling me about richard and spencer and (the redheaded girl) in your math class and talking about your crush on richard - at that time we'd never have guessed you'd marry spencer
i remember your long talks with spencer when we were in New York for thanksgiving
i remember seeing you try on the "perfect" wedding dress
i remember you finding a different dress that you loved more
i remember you looking beautiful in all of the dresses you tried on
i remember seeing you as a first-time mother
i remember how tired you became, but how happy you were to be a mother
i remember you letting me steal your little boys so i could babysit and have a small taste of motherhood
i remember our super-late night talks where you have been so understanding and helpful
i remember tearing up when i think of how lucky i am to have a sister like you (kind of like i'm tearing up now while i'm writing this)
i also remember how grateful i am to have you in my life, and for your wonderful example as a sister, a wife, and a mother

i love you little faithy!