~Day 2 of Challenge~

Day 02 - A picture of you and the person you have been close with for the longest.

This is a photo of me (in the wheelchair) and my sister, Diane. She's the person I've been closest to the longest...she's my "safe place." When I had the accident in 1987 that left me a paraplegic, you'd think I would have first called out for my mother or father...but I asked the hospital staff for my sister, and then my dad. She's the one who stood at my bedside twisting the briars filled with poison oak out of my matted and bloody hair...and when I came to a few days later, the first face I saw was hers, smeared with patches of a pale pink substance which turned out to be calamine lotion. She'd ended up covered with poison oak.
We all laugh about it now, that I was thrown into the woods from the accident, and to top it all off, landed in a patch of briars and poison oak! If it weren't for bad luck... you know the rest, right? haha!
Back to Diane...throughout my life she's been a mother to me, my best friend, my confidant, and the best sister anyone could ever ask for.
We talk almost daily, and she knows me better than I know myself. Currently I'm struggling through something that I'm not ready to blog about, and I even attempted to shut her out, to save her from having to worry about me -- but she refuses to go away! haha! (If you're reading this, Diane...that's meant to be funny!) She wants to make sure I'm "ok" and it's just another example of how deep our love for one another is...we truly want the other to be happy, and will do whatever we can to make it happen. Our connection is so real that we actually "feel" it when the other is struggling -- there's no facade to hide behind.
On a lighter note, many people have trouble telling us apart on the phone. We both have the voice of a 12 year old! haha!
Also, she's an amazing cook and just in case you ever end up at her table, let me give you a hint.

If you just want a little more, tell her you're stuffed and couldn't eat another bite: BAM, a smallish portion will appear on your plate.

If you want a generous helping, tell her "just a teeny bit" and: BAM, a HUGE helping will appear on your plate.

If you're truly full and can't eat anything, be prepared to slip it to the dog, because she doesn't understand that.