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| My sister, Sandy c. 1967 |
My sister, Sandy, was about 4 years old in this photo. Just look at those big, beautiful blue eyes. She was such a sweet little girl, so humble and eager to please others. She would go out of her way to do whatever it was her older siblings told her to do, and Frank Jr. and I took advantage of her good nature, too. We constantly used her as our "gopher" to get this or that and she would do it without complaining. Children can be mean to each other sometimes, and I was no exception. I recall those times when my Mom would force me to take my baby sister along to play with my friend Lisa, who lived across the street. I would get so angry at Mom for making me take her along. Sandy was about 4 years younger than I, and I felt she was just "in the way". She didn't know how to play Barbie dolls or board games, and she didn't want to listen to music or watch the same programs on television that Lisa and I watched. I would make Sandy sit across the room so as not to disturb my friend and I. She would just sit there and watch us play. She didn't cry or even whimper about it. When Lisa and I walked through the neighborhood, I made Sandy walk several feet behind us. I remember looking back at her and saying, "Tagalong, tagalong, you're nothing but a tagalong". How mean was that?!!! Maybe I felt the way I did because I was around my baby sister too much. We shared the same bedroom and we often had to bathe together when we were young. It wasn't Sandy's fault, yet I still resented having to "babysit" her when I wanted to spend time with my friends. As we grew up, Sandy began making her own friends, and, as teens, we rarely spent "sister time" together. Fortunately, after my children were born, Sandy was often at our house, spending time with us. My children loved their Aunt Sandy when they were young. She wrestled with them, took them swimming and spent a great deal of time with them. During those years, I appreciated my "tagalong" sister and welcomed her presence. The passing years once again placed distance between us and we didn't spend much time together, that is, until the past couple of years. Now that we share the same household, we spend a great deal of time in conversation together. I'm thankful for our relationship and for this opportunity given to us to get to know each other again. Though we have an occasional dispute or disagreement, I appreciate my "tagalong" sister and I love her dearly.
