Two and Two

In case you haven’t heard me say it- I love that Stephen has moved to Dallas. It’s been two years since I have lived in the same city as my siblings, which is as long as I’ve gone in my entire life without one of them. Stephen was born 26 months after I was. The next time I was sibling free was sixteen years later when I moved up to LSU. Stephen joined me my junior year though, so it was only a two year break. I graduated in 2006 and moved to Dallas, and Stephen came up two years later. Thank God for that… I don’t know how I would have handled life if he hadn’t. It would be the first time that I would be without one of my siblings for that long. I may be ready to move away, buy a house, get married, start a new life with Layne… but I don’t know if I will ever be cut out to be sibling free. Good thing that when I marry Layne in 107 days (yes- only 107 more days!) I get two more siblings who live 20 minutes away. Family is everything, and siblings are one of God’s greatest gifts.

This Saturday, Abby and Gregory were in Auburn together for the football game. They went with different groups of friends, but of course, they found their way to each other to hang out. Here in Dallas, Stephen and I went and hung out with different groups of friends earlier in the evening, yet there I was sitting in Quarter Bar on McKinney, when I realized that Stephen had wandered over from Uptown Pub and made his way to us.

I love my siblings, not only because they are my brothers and sisters, but because as we get older they are becoming my closest friends. We don’t lie to each other, or feel the need to hide things from each other. We know each other so well it’s scary. We call each other out on our BS. And at the worst moments of my life, when I thought the sun would never come back out to shine, my siblings were the people who were there to teach me to smile again. I am so lucky.

I am 25 years old. Stephen is 23. Abby is 21. Gregory is 20. The four of us (girl, boy, girl, boy) are four and a half years apart- and the sacrifices Mom and Dad made to give us each other is the greatest gift they could have ever shared. Being away from my siblings has really made me appreciate what we share.

So to Stephen, Abby, and Gregory (who are probably laughing out loud at how gay this post is and are calling me Hallmark (again) behind my back) thank you. Having you guys in my life means the world to me. Talking to you about the little details in our lives is one of my favorite things we do. I miss you- I can’t wait to see you. And I am green with envy that the three of you will be together this weekend without me.