Savannah Reams: Greene Publishing, Inc.
On this day, 23 years ago, Dec. 28, 1995, I received the best Christmas present I could have possibly asked for—a baby sister. All year, I talked about her arrival. My teachers, extended family, friends and strangers were blessed with daily reminders of my sister's upcoming birth. I paraded around the playground, the grocery store and every public place bragging of my big sister stardom.
The night she arrived, my parents dropped me off at my grandmother's house, bags packed, and left for the hospital. My grandmother instructed me it was time to take a bath and get ready for bed, so I shuffled to the suitcase that was left for me, quickly grabbed some clothes and headed to the bathroom. A little while later, I opened the door and found my grandmother in the living room. "I don't think these are mine!" I shouted. My grandmother turned and began to laugh hysterically as she saw her four-year-old granddaughter donning maternity underwear that reached her neck. Despite the fact my parents had mixed-up our bags, my sister was born and, before long, we were bringing her home from the hospital.
Little sisters are the greatest and, simultaneously, most awful occurrence to ever happen to someone. I'm 27-years-old and my possessions are still going missing—items of clothing, makeup, hairbrushes, straightening irons and any other item my 23-year-old sister may "borrow," without my permission. Also, the time period that little sisters look up to their older sisters like they are perfect goddesses who know everything and are the coolest human beings on the planet—lasts about five minutes. I stopped being cool when she turned 13, and I became completely irrelevant when she made it to high school. I've heard it all, from, "Who would buy your old prom dress? It isn't in style anymore," to "Stop dancing like that, you're embarrassing me!"
Despite everything, my sister is the first person I call when something happens—good or bad. What's great about being blessed with a sister is that, through every bump in the road or sad moment in our family, we have had each other to rely on. We've remained close in our adult lives and it's so much fun to watch her thrive as a confident, hard-working nurse-to-be. On this day, 23 years ago, God gave me my best friend, and I'm still bragging about it. Happy birthday, Christiana!