I got the best compliment I could have asked for

There is not much that is exciting in my life at the moment.  I have been around home and staying mostly at home.  So, I have not been able to write much about wanderings and exploits.  But yesterday, yesterday is one of the things that I have been waiting for, for several years.

I'm pretty sure it is clear how much I love and value my family.  If not, know that they are my first priority and even though I am a thousand or two miles away, they are still my first thoughts and what I work for. With being the oldest I have had the privilege of watching each sibling join the family, and remember them joining starting with the 4th one in the family.   The problem with being the oldest of a great group of siblings, I left when some of them were quite young.  It tore my heart in two when Sam, as little as 2 years old, would cry when I would leave the house to head back to school or my home.  He would beg me to stay and when I would try to explain why I couldn't he would then switch to asking if I could take him in my suitcase because he was small enough and would fit within the weight limits.  Yes, Sam was a very smart young boy.

I know that I am significantly older than my youngest siblings.  I am actually closer in age to my uncle than to my siblings.  As much as I love my uncle, and I do, I really wanted a sibling relationship with them and not a relationship that was more like an aunt.  I went home each summer, passing up on great internships.  I called home frequently to talk to the kids and see what was going on.  I remembered which grades they were in, who their teachers were while in elementary school, learned their favorite tv shows and movies, and tried to keep up on the latest children's games.  I feel so bad for my poor parents with how many times I would call home.  Then, as technology increased, we would have family nights were we would start a movie at the same time and watch together on a conference speaker call.

Last year, for my birthday, child #7, Jake Jake, wrote me a letter that told me how much he appreciated the calls home.  That he knows that I am here for him and he appreciates how I know what is going on in his life. Then, just last night, Sam,child # 9, told me the same thing while we were talking.  He told me he likes it when I call home and ask how he is doing.  He likes knowing that I am aware of what is going on and invested in finding out what he does and what is important for him.

It was the sweetest compliment I could have asked for.  I never expected a compliment back.  I never thought the kids would really pick up on what I was doing.  But, twice within a year I got the compliment and the reassurance that what I was doing worked.  I am excited that my brothers and sisters, even though there is a significant age gap between us, are as happy to be with me as I am with them.  They know me as a sister, a close sister, and enjoy time with me as well.  Today, I am feeling so blessed.