Today is National Siblings Day and any blog with "sisters" in the title certainly should celebrate. Stephanie and I are only 15 months apart in age, so we grew up almost like twins since we were so close in age and at a small school, one grade apart was negligible. We knew most of the kids a couple grades above and behind us in school and even a little further out than that if they were siblings of friends or on a common sport team. As kids, we did pretty much everything together, but also had our own interests. I spent a lot more time running as a teenager while Stephanie was a very good volleyball player. For a number of years, we even answered to one another's names! Now that our own kids are all getting a little older, Stephanie and I have been able to reconnect with more fun things together again. When we visit our parents (aka "the farm"), we are able to take off on runs, shopping, movies or work on crafts guilt-free since none of the cousins require the hands-on care they needed as toddlers. In fact, when they arrive at the farm, most of the kids wonder when the adults will leave. We have yet to figure out what Grandma and Grandpa do with these kids when we leave, but they are all anxious for us to get lost :-) I believe they are mostly playing board games, exploring outdoors and eating fun snacks, but they just like it that their parents are not around to distract Grandma and Grandpa from the fun. Stephanie and I went to the farm to attend a funeral a while back on a weeknight, so we left all the kids and husbands at home. It was probably the first time in many years we went out for pizza just the four of us. I made sure to take a photo of Stephanie with our Mom and Dad to send back to the kids to make them a little jealous. Notice that she is sitting in the middle! I think having a great sibling helped me mother three children who are a total of four and a half years apart. My husband and I feel fortunate that our kids genuinely care for and enjoy one another. I'm sure they have had their share of arguments, but overall get along great. The boys even shared a bedroom until B left for college. Here they are on Christmas getting ready for breakfast of gluten free pancakes: These siblings are also bonded by running. The boys are both distance runners and now that they are a little older, like to run some of their miles together. They were teammates when D was in junior high and B was in high school, but not quite yet compatible running buddies until D was more full-grown. Their sister is a thrower, so track is a strong common interest. It was so convenient for us the one year that all three of them had the same track schedule! Here we are a number of years ago...this family photo was too funny for us not to purchase. Every group needs a comedian: Happy National Siblings Day to you! If you don't have any biological siblings, your running friends might be the next best thing. If you have siblings who like to run, hopefully you can coordinate a time to run with them sometime this spring. How about joining a race all together? Happy running! Missee
1 Comment
Sandie Scott Rentz
4/10/2017 06:29:43 pm
What a lovely tribute made me cry
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AuthorMissee and Stephanie are two Minnesota sisters and moms who love to run. We are not experts in running, parenting or anything else, but we do have years of experiences that may be helpful or entertaining to others. Archives
May 2020
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