What can you do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family. –St. (Mother) Teresa of Calcutta

Apparently, for Day 100 of 365, it’s National Siblings Day! So, for those of you who have been following along my little “Mad for 2019” adventure, today is your lucky day! Today, you get to meet my sister! Above left, there I am, and on the right is my little sister, Robin, aka “Fav Sis”, “Great Robino” or “Robbi Jo” among other monikers. She’s my one and only sibling, which is why we often jokingly refer to each other as “Fav Sis.” Get it? Ha?

The Great Robino and I are alike in virtually no ways whatsoever. She’s a brilliant science mind, while I am better with adjectives. She’s quiet, while I have volume control issues. She’s exacting and careful with her words and I am….hmmm….more likely to call on colorful language? I’m obnoxiously prompt, and let’s just say Robin is on a more relaxed time frame. In high school, Rob was literally the queen of everything. If they placed a crown on the head of the pretty girl for an occasion, she was the one selected. I was more the class officer type. She’s still as gorgeous as ever, by the way but her hair isn’t as big! The funny thing about Robin was that she never seemed to see it coming. She’s always been very unassuming, kind, and sunny.

Robin lives in Chicagoland (Naperville, IL actually) and is the mother of two girls, Maddie and Ellie. She’s also the wife of my pretty fantastic brother-in-law, Chris Beck. My incredibly gifted nieces are truly spectacular young ladies in large part because of the thoughtful and loving way they have been raised by my sister and Chris. Maddie is now a high school freshman at nearby St. Francis and Ellie is a 6th grader at All Saint’s. They share the kind and compassionate heart of their mom for sure! I am so incredibly proud of my sis for the way she has conducted her life and how she is raising her girls to be integrity-filled, hard-working and so full of love for others. They are a reflection of her in 1000 ways.

We don’t often get extended time together, but it doesn’t take long for the laughter to ensue when we are in one place. Few people can draw out the giggles in me like Robin can. I have a “next level” of laughter where I am unable to breathe because I am laughing so hard and I begin to fan myself thinking that will help. Usually, when it happens, that fit of cackling has been brought on by my sister. By virtue of the childhood we shared, we are deadly if teamed together in games like “Catch Phrase”. We seem to be able to read each other’s minds. It creepy. I treasure those silly sister moments.

Robin is a soft-hearted, intelligent, capable, faithful and thoughtful woman. She was my first friend. We spent endless hours when we were little playing with dolls on a blanket in the yard, and we would sit up staring at the Christmas tree together at 5am hoping Mom and Dad would wake up, so eager were we to tear into our presents. Collectively, I am pretty sure we know all the lyrics to every Christmas song ever, and we do a mean impression of the Lennon Sisters. We helped each other blow out the candles on a lot of birthday cakes over the years and we spent many summers cheering each other on softball diamonds.

I wish I could say I treated her like she deserved when we were younger, but the truth is, I was a stinker sometimes as older siblings can be. I definitely didn’t always want her at my slumber parties. Later as teenagers, I used to constantly threaten to leave for school without her. I may or may not have made her chase me down the driveway a few times out of frustration. I’m “Type A” a little more than a little and in a totally unattractive way from time to time. Of course now, I realize how short-sighted and selfish that thinking was. You see, Robin, no matter how many miles separate us, is a treasure in my life. She’s a genuine and positive person, a friend for life. I love her without condition and utterly to the center of myself. I am incredibly proud to be her sister! HAPPY SIBLINGS DAY, FAV SIS! I LOVE YOU EVEN MORE THAN I LOVE THE MOVIE “WHITE CHRISTMAS.” 🙂