Today, my lovely little sister, Rachel, turns 30.  For the past few years, it’s been easy to think of her as my super fun and young little sister who has all this energy and does so much great stuff with her kids.  And now, all of a sudden, I have to face the facts that she’s totally grown up (obviously has been for awhile) and because she is, I (being almost 10 years older than her) am OLD.

This is (to save you from doing the math in your head) the year that I will turn 40 (ha! just typed 30 accidentally!) and I myself keep wondering when I am going to feel old. Recently, I’ve started to coach myself into being willing to take the “older woman/older mom/older friend” mantle onto myself and not to feel like a fraud while doing so.  I still, of course, feel as if I have very little figured out but I am also closing in on 20 years of practicing being an adult.  At some point, I have to take on that mantle fully, right? And not just reluctantly, but gladly, knowing I have and will continue to earn the right to do so.

So today, I’m wishing my sister a very most HAPPY BIRTHDAY! And reminding her that she herself is a fount of loving wisdom that she can share with those younger than her (and older than her too for that matter – like me!).

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Although the kids’ and my two trips to Alaska in the past year have been primarily for a sad reason (serious illness in my family that is thankfully now well on its way to wellness), I have been so grateful for the times that she and I and our kids have had to spend together.  Someday, we both dream of living closer to each other but until then, we sure do love FaceTime!

me, taking a picture of her taking a picture of me taking a picture of her! 🙂

our precious silly kids, October 2015 (in age order, 2.75, 3, 4.5, 5, almost 6)