Sharing Time

As most of you who read/have read my blog at some point know, I was in school this past semester (yes I do plan on going back again this semester, as long as finances allow). During this time, I wrote A LOT of papers. I had lofty aspirations to post some of the ones I actually enjoyed writing here on my blog. So for your reading enjoyment - here is my compare/contrast paper for my writing class:

Sister: a female who has one or both parents in common with another. This is the definition of the word sister according to Webster’s Dictionary. I, on the other hand, have come to my own, complex definition of sister during my lifetime. As the oldest of 4, I have had a lot of experience being “the big sister” and have come to realize you can’t just describe this type of a relationship with one word, emotion or feeling – although I will attempt to compare and contrast here how my experiences as a sister has changed throughout my life.
I first became a sister at the age of 3 – my little brother Joshua Tyler Cameron. I honestly don’t remember much about his arrival in our family. I do know from pictures and what I have heard from my parents that I adored my brother. Two years later, when I was 5, my sister Katie LeeAnn Cameron, was born - I do remember her birth. I was sitting in the waiting room at the hospital with Josh and a family member, I was coloring in my Herself the Elf coloring book, and someone came in and said “Heidi, you have a new sister!”, I responded with – “So?”. Needless to say, I remember not being particularly thrilled with the birth of this new member of the family. Since I was the oldest, I did feel some responsibility to teach them things, how to play with Barbies, how to play dress up (yes, I was able to get my brother to participate), play house/doctor/school, what the best cartoons were, the fact that we bleed orange in our family (Clemson) and how to have fun at Clemson football games. As they grew older, I found I was beginning to learn things from them as well.
My brother started playing baseball at the very young age of 4 – from that point on, my summers revolved around watching my brother play baseball. I learned from these experiences my brother is an exceptionally talented baseball player, he is a good sport and an asset to any team he has been on. The time our family spent traveling to watch him play baseball also allowed us to grow closer together and gave us the opportunity to make new friends. We were able to see parts of the country we may not have seen otherwise – even if it was Abingdon, VA. I was basically given two choices with baseball, considering the amount of time we spent watching it, either love it or hate it. I chose to love it, and still do. The relationship I have/had with my brother has gone through the typical stages most brother – sister relationships go through. Annoyance, love, anger, tolerance – however, I feel that my relationship with my brother isn’t just “typical” – especially now that I can look back on it. As young children, I know it wasn’t a perfect lovey-dovey relationship, but we have a very strong relationship today. We have helped each other through some difficult times -we both had our hearts broken by our “soulmates” within a week of each other. Through all of the hitting, bruises, pulling hair, hugs, laughs and games – I am so lucky to have experienced it all with him and I am so proud of the man he has become.
My sister Katie on the other hand, was the “thinker”. She participated in OM – Odyssey of the Mind. Through this, I got to see a creative, outgoing person that usually was hidden some where inside. I went to many of these competitions and practices and through this, I learned more about thinking outside the box and how to be creative. I thought, and honestly still do, of Katie as the smart one. She was the one who always concentrated on her school work – not one to be easily distracted. She started playing the violin in middle school, she practiced diligently and became a very talented violinist – as opposed to my experience playing the clarinet, another story for another time. My relationship with Katie is very different from my relationship with my brother. I love them both equally, yet there is something different about my relationship with her. She is my best friend - the closest thing I have found on this earth to my soulmate. Even though we don’t live together anymore, when we do get together, we are constantly finishing each other’s sentences and saying things at the same time….it’s creepy. I know I can call her at any time and talk if I need to and she can do the same. We have a bond that only sisters can have - it’s very special and can never be broken.
And lastly – for the surprise ending – Josie. I became an older sister again at the age of 18. My parents told all of us the day after I graduated from high school that my mother was 3 months pregnant. As you can imagine – this was quite shocking to an 18 year old, who thought parents don’t have sex. I honestly can say I wasn’t sure what to think about my parents having another baby until she was born. The day she was born and I held her in my arms, I was in love with this little beautiful girl. I was in college at the time, so I didn’t start developing a true bond with her until about 5 months after she was born, I moved back home and didn’t go back to school. This is when she started slowly wrapping me around her finger. I spent a lot of time with this little munchkin – I helped my parents out as much as I was able (minus a year or so that I was having some..issues). I have loved every second of having her in this house. I don’t want to know what my life would be like without her. She has brought so much joy, laughter, love, and amusement into my life, I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Her amazement about finding out how things work, learning how to read, learning about the Bible and God – it makes me rethink the way I live my life and maybe my life wouldn’t be so hectic and stressful if I could just look at life through a child’s eye and see things with amazement and be awestruck at the world God created the way she is.
If you had asked me when I was 8 or 9 years old how I liked being an older sister, I may have just shrugged my shoulders and said – it’s OK. Back then, I thought the big sister just meant I was born first – I didn’t associate any responsibility with it. Over the years, I have come to realize it’s a much bigger responsibility than just being the first born. It involves being a best friend, a fill in mother sometimes, an advisor and so many other jobs. Now that I am able to look back on the time I have spent with each one of my very different siblings and reflect on the different ways we have shaped each other, I have to say they are all amazing relationships in their own, special, very different way.