Auntie withdrawal

Twenty-five years ago I made a singular nightly prayer:

Dear God, please, please, please give me a baby sister.

You see, I already had two brothers. My 4-year-old self hoped and prayed for a built-in girl playmate.

To this day, one of my happiest childhood memories was July 7, 1988. My grandma called me into her kitchen and passed me the phone. As I held the receiver to my ear, my mom told me the news: Katie, you have a sister. Her name is Leah.


Fast-forward to Dec. 17, 2012.
Auntie Leah arrives and takes up temporary residence of the bonus room for the next 18 days.

Her super-human sleeping ability aside, she is The BEST House Guest.
In fact, she spoils us. ALL of us.

She's the auntie who plays horsey and dress-up and doctor and school and beauty salon. She helps you build a snowman in the front yard. She hoots with you down the sledding hill and carries you back up to the top, over and over again.  She takes you ice skating and then out for french fries and frozen custard. She gives you the "As Seen On TV" toy you wanted for Christmas. She makes extraordinary grilled cheese sandwiches. And she pulls out your first tooth.

Her musical taste is impeccable. She is forever introducing us to new artists that we'll listen to on repeat for weeks, if not months. She watches football and actually enjoys it. She wants to talk about the players and the last play of the game. And she is honest-to-goodness interested.

She stays home so I can run errands during the middle of a weekday without any kids in tow. She puts the girls to bed flawlessly and has a rom-com ready to watch on the laptop. She goes cross country skiing with me and doesn't leave me in the dust. She makes me laugh so hard I cry.

Her presence in our home these past few weeks was the much-needed and even-more-appreciated relief during the hectic stress of the holidays.


This is a little late in coming, but Thank You, Lord for delivering on that prayer of mine 25 years ago. We are so richly blessed.