Sisters, sisters, there were never more devoted sisters...

I have to admit that I've been a little jealous of Averie and Caris. In all truth, even though I had a brother and sister, I never really grew up with them. By the time my Mom and Dad adopted me, my siblings were older, living elsewhere, and struggling in their own lives just to survive. For all intents and purposes, I grew up an only child. So, when Charlie and I decided to start our family, we had more than one, by design. I wanted my kids to have sibling memories.

Of course, I've learned you don't grow up loving your siblings. There have been those days when one offspring, in frustration, would ask me that inevitible question; "Why am I not an only child?" Still, in these last few years, as my girls are going through those milestones of life; boyfriends, dating, college, I find that they turn to each other quite often and I've heard each of them say more than once that their sister is their best friend. Someone they can confide in, someone they can cry to when auditions don't go the way they hoped, someone they can bounce lines off of, someone to call when they get callbacks, someone to help them write an English paper, someone they can complain to when their boyfriends are making them crazy. In secrecy, even though it makes my heart swell that they have each other, the other side of me longed for that relationship that I did not have. Until now.


Now, not a day goes by that I don't think about my sister. She's the first one I call when I need to vent. She's the first one I call when something exciting is happening. Now, the weeks are long in between my opportunities to run away to San Diego to see her. Now, I long for the giggles, and believe me, there are many. Though we only live 90 minutes apart, the drive feels like an eternity when I know her broad grin is waiting for me on the other end of the 5 freeway. You would never know that we hadn't grown up together. The only thing missing is the childhood memories. But since we found each other 3 years ago, we are making up for lost time. We pack those years into minutes and cherish every one. I have those moments where I wish we had grown up knowing each other, but then I wonder if that would lessen the feeling of gratitude I have for her now. Nah. She's awesome. Still, I'm so grateful to be able to say "My sister". And I'm not so jealous of Averie and Caris anymore.

100% Agave Mother's Day

Ave's 21 now. That means my child can buy me liquor AND she can drink with me. Which she did. I got my favorite tequila for Mother's Day. She spent so much on the gift, that she didn't have enough money to buy wrapping paper. So she gave it to me wrapped in her sweatshirt. As we sat and drank a Margarita together, she told me about the guy at the liquor store who was surprised that she had picked a "good, quality tequila."

BevMo Guy: Hey, great tequila.
Ave: Yeah, it's my mom's favorite. She knows her tequila. I'm giving it to her for Mother's Day.
BevMo Guy: (long pause) Wow. Your mom sounds fun. I'm just giving my mom flowers.
Ave: Well, your gift is probably gonna last longer than mine.

I'm not sure how that makes me look....but I do know how Averie feels...thanks to the post she wrote me:

Sunday, May 13, 2007

Because She Loves Me, and That's Difficult
Current mood: thankful


I used to have a blog. Shock! It was a long time ago. Let it go. Strangely enough, the internet has seen fit to NOT swallow it into the black abyss of time but instead make it easily accessible from Google.

As a result, I found this, dated May 9, 2004:
The Averie Joy Monologues on Mother's Day-

In the spirit of Mother's Day I am making a list of the top 20 reasons why I love my momsy; there are more, but twenty is a good, round number -

1. She laughed when I named her Mother's Day gift "The Babelfish".
2. She "wink-wink, nudge-nudge"-ed me through the mall whenever she saw something amusing.
3. She brought me a drink when I spent all Saturday painting the "Little Shop of Horrors" set.
4. She'll listen to every new stand-up set I write.
5. She still proofreads my English assignments when I ask her to.
6. I can say "Fuck fuck fuck" on my blog and she never says anything.
7. She paid my cell bill when I was short on money.
8. She didn't tell my dad when I was short on money and she had to pay my cell bill.
9. If it weren't for her I wouldn't know who the Pythons were. So, no Eric Idle or Michael Palin, which is a sad world indeed.
10. She tapes random things on TV for me if she thinks I might like them. I usually do.
11. She helps feed my love for Dave Foley.
12. She'll watch Kids in the Hall with me for 3 hour marathons.
13. She knitted me a scarf.
14. She keeps me updated on the nerdy things I love.
15. She remembers the things I hate to eat and never forces me to eat them (ie: eggs, ham, curry, asparagus).
16. She drove me around for my entire high school career.
17. She's been to all my dramatic, musical, and comedic performances.
18. She doesn't give "pity laughs" when I say something stupid. She lets me know if it's stupid.
19. She's in love with Eddie Izzard. Seriously, love.
20. She loves me. Which is really cool when you think about it.

Happy Mom's Day. :o)

Today my reasons remain mostly unchaged. Although at this point in my life, they far exceed 20 and can hardly be narrowed to less than thousands. I like to think that the major changes have come about as a result of maturity, and so, I am more appreciative of little things.

My mom is wonderful. She could, by all means, be a crazy person. She could collect doilies and little glass animals. She could organize our house according to feng-shui. She could send out those atrocious Christmas newsletters with annoyingly creative names, like "The Family Herald!" that are full of lies and exaggerations that NO ONE wants to read. But she doesn't.

She, instead, is wonderful. She listens to my mediocre and drawn-out tales. She brings soup to work, expecting that I haven't eaten. In days. Which is usually true. She loves me, in spite of the fact that I am borderline on my good days.

Now, my mom is not without fault. But those are the things that make her all the more human and endearing and special. Her little quirks no longer anger me the way they used to. I think that's because as I have grown I have learned that, sometimes, I am ten times more annoying than most humans, and she has dealt in dignified silence. And these are the reasons I love her so much more than anything else in life (except Daddy, who I love equally...just covering all my bases).

Mommy, you can't make it to all my shows, but you turn a blind eye when I blantantly steal food from the pantry and take it back to school. You cover for me at work. You hug me when I need it. You smile, even when it's hard.

Usually gifts are customary on this day, but Hallmark does not sell gifts that can say thank you for 21 years of selflessness. Tulips, singing cards and tiny bears holding hearts don't really compare.

So this will have to do. I love you. Happy Mother's Day.

My reward. A 100% Blue Agave Mother's Day, Margaritas with my daughter, and the best damn words ever put to paper. Not just from Averie, but from Caris and Bry as well. But they get embarrassed when I write about them, so I'll just say that I'm a lucky, lucky mom. Kumbaya.