August 23rd, 1981

Look how the same possibilities
unfold in their opposite demeanors,
as though one saw different ages
passing through two identical rooms.
-"The Sisters" by Rainier Maria Rilke

The nice thing about living far away is that it finally occurs to you to say all those things you love about your family that you just assume they know. Distance creates a need to bridge with words what you used to with proximity - that closeness and sense of being loved.

Oh, and yeah, it's my favorite (and only) sister's 28th birthday today so this is her birthday post.

An Incomplete and Abridged List of Reasons Why Claire Willett Is Amazing:

1. she still won't admit that she snores


2. she's the only person (now mom's gone) who i trust to give me 100% honest feedback


3. she's also the only person (now mom's gone) that enjoys polishing silver


4. i don't think even Bernstein and Woodward love the Watergate era as much as Claire


5. if 100 people were singing 100 different songs in a large, echoey auditorium, i'd still be able to immediately pick out her voice


6. she's wonderful with children and the elderly and anyone who needs someone to make them laugh


7. she and colin have never 100% determined who's the most reluctant to get up and find the remote. mainly because i eventually do it - seriously, it's like watching sloths battle...


8. she's perfectly balances braggadocio with self-deprecation


9. she loves God deeply and shares that love constantly, mostly without words


10. she's been through Hell and back with me several times throughout my life, and she's never once judged me for it or lost faith in me


11. she planned the most amazing memorial service for our mother - people still come up to talk to us about it


12. all my good book recommendations come from her - she's never led me astray


13. she put up with my nagging and pet peeves for the 1.5 years we lived together - not happily, at times, but she did it


14. she's absolutely the best sister a girl could be given. the end