Happy Birthday, Marsha!

……It’s been seven years since I lost my only sibling. It seems like just yesterday that I sat here with my coffee to write her obituary. I didn’t realize that day, however, how much I had lost. That realization came day after day when I wanted to call her to fill her in on the latest news in my life or gossip in town

…..You see, your sibling knows you in a way that no-one else in the world can know you. Your shared experience from the moment you took your first steps belong to no-one else. You don’t have to share your fears, she’s the one who shared your bed and chased away the monsters in that little apartment above the office. And, when we moved to the house out the highway, I still had to sleep in her room Christmas night so she could make sure I didn’t sneak downstairs and open the presents while everyone was sleeping. She was my keeper, my rescuer, my idol and my friend wrapped up all in one.

…… It wasn’t a job she requested. She was seven when I was born and well on her way to being a happy only child when I upset the apple cart. I was a challenge, for sure, but it was a challenge she took on with love.

…….She always thought she would stick around to take care of me. She always had and I was the one who always seemed to have a problem. It struck us both one day as we came out of mass. She was on the New Cumberland Cemetery Board and she was telling me I needed to get my plot purchased. She had three: her’s , Bill’s and their son, Brian. She knew Mom had three and she guessed she would put me there, when from behind us came a voice from someone who had been listening to our macabre discussion.

…….”What makes you think, you won’t die first, Marsha?”

…….It hit us both then. No matter how much we think we’re in control, God has his plan for us. I was used to going to Marsha with my problems and with my triumphs. If she didn’t have the answer, she had a kitchen table and the weakest coffee in the world where we could hash it out. She was my sanctuary and my sounding board and I think it wasn’t until she was gone, I realized that your sister always has your back. She had no problem fibbing to Mom and Dad to get me out of trouble and then she would deal with the trouble.

……..In a unique turn of events, that I have to think was put in place by a higher spirit, Marsha and her husband, Bill’s house did not pass out of the family. Shannon now owns the house on Chester Street and she reports much happiness. Her kids come and go just like mine did and the house is once again a haven for us all.

Happy Birthday, my sister. I love you and always will in memory and spirit.