Katie

This post is dedicated to my sister. I feel we have a special bond- most of the time anyways. This consists of several smaller stories so it might be on the longer side.

She was born when I was 11. My mom let me see her birth. I'll admit, it was interesting- long morning in the hospital- finally giving in to going to the cafeteria for some breakfast. Came back and found my Dad at the door saying, "You're just in time for the epidural!" With a smile on his face. I replied, "What's an epidural?" He just smiled back, and had it not been so early, MAYBE I would have caught on to his subtle sarcasm in his voice, "OH, you're going to LOVE this..." So I, who hates shots, watched the epidural. The whole birth process I thought was interesting, but the shot.... I told my Mom I was adopting after watching the epidural. They've tried to convince me that the epidural is what saves you from pain, but it's the whole idea that you NEED something that big and drastic to save you from pain- that thought is not very appealing to me. But thus started my connection with my sister Katie.

My Mom has been a great Mom to all of us. A great example of charity, and giving and putting others first and sacrifice, among other things. My Aunt Lisa was diagnosed with leukemia and my Mom dedicated a lot of her time to helping find platelet donors for her. She spent hours a day on the phone trying to find people and arrange appointments and schedule things. A lot of the family chipped in to help, one of my new responsibilities, which I enjoyed, was watching my sister Katie who was 1 1/2. I became her "mom". I would play with her, watch her, watch movies with her, put her to sleep. My Mom always had lullabies for us kids, and since I sang to her, I got to choose hers. Katie's lullaby is "Tender Shepherd"- a song I learned at Girls' Camp. I remember one time my brother realized how burned out I was, and tried to help. It was Katie's nap time, and so I told Danny that I put Katie to sleep by taking her on a walk around the neighborhood and singing to her. I know this may sound rather mundane, but I spent the time to go to the bathroom and do basic things. My brother came back- possibly an hour later, VERY distraught. He came in and was like, "I've walked around the neighborhood THREE times, and she still won't go to sleep, she keeps on looking back and I swear she won't go to sleep because I'M pushing her..." I was grateful to my brother for the chance I'd had to take a break, so I went outside to take Katie on a walk. I started walking, and we hadn't gone more than 3 houses before she was fast asleep- sure enough though- she checked to make sure I was pushing her before she fell asleep. :)

Katie's and my movie was Anastasia- it was Katie's favorite. And I'll admit, I love it too. Katie would watch it several times a day if it was up to only her. We still watch it from time to time, though it's been awhile since our last time.

I would always take her out when she was crabby in Sacrament, or if she needed a drink of water. I remember one time, one of Katie's friends in Nursery once asked her mom, "Where's Katie's mom?" And so the lady pointed to our mom, and the little girl looked at her mom and said, "That's not Katie's mom..." Then when I walked in, she pointed to me and said, matter-of-factly, "THAT'S Katie's mom..." Katie and I were inseparable.

When I turned 16, we had another sister by then and I had a new car. It was the newest commodity, and the back seat could fold down and go straight to the trunk. Katie and Julie both thought that was the greatest thing! So, we had many adventures in my car when they were both little. There was one time we went for a drive- just around the neighborhood. Katie got thirsty, and Julie refused to let us go home to get Katie a drink. So I remember going through the McDonalds drive thru- JUST for a water. I had no money and we didn't order anything else. I mean, technically I don't feel too bad- we buy enough from them and that's the only time we've gone through without buying something, but it still felt odd, but it DID appease them both. I learned how to do a trick called, "rock the cradle" in the car. You basically move the steering wheel back and forth really quick and it will "rock" the car. That was one of their favorites, but I told them specifically NOT to tell Mom or we wouldn't be able to do it anymore. Well, they did really well for awhile and then one day, forgot and cried, "MOM! Do rock the cradle!!!" My Mom asks, "What's rock the cradle?" And so they responded, "Jamie does it ALL the time...." So my Mom looked at me in the rear view mirror with a threatening look and I had to tell her. She was mad, briefly, but now she does rock the cradle too.

One of my favorite car stories, is more about my power of brainwashing Katie. She believed everything I told her. We were on another car ride and the light turned yellow, so I sped up so I could make it and she scolds me, "Jamie, YELLOW means, SLOW DOWN." And I responded, "No, it means, slow down so Jamie can get through." I didn't think she believed me until one day we were in my Mom's car and the light turned yellow- my Mom sped up and Katie goes, "Mom, YELLOW means SLOW DOWN." And my Mom said, "It's ok, you just have to be careful." And Katie goes, "No, it means you have to slow down Mom, so Jamie can get through." My Mom almost laughed and reassured my sister, "It's alright, Jamie's with us, and she had to get through..." I don't know how we corrected that one in the end, but she now knows right...

I will admit, I spoiled Katie ROTTEN. My Mom had a lot to do with raising her, but I had more of a part in her life than my other sisters, I feel, so I feel a special connection with her. And that one summer when my Aunt was sick I did raise her. My Mom had to do a lot of fixing afterwards so she wasn't too rotten. She has turned out alright so far though. She has self-esteem like no other- convinced every guy loves her- and she is really pretty. I love her, (and my other sisters) but this blog post is dedicated to my sister Katie- I LOVE YOU!!!