The biggest change in my life this year was being able to say goodbye to my IT career. It took me some months to adjust from my high stress, deadline driven career to a life of leisure. Now that I have adjusted to it, I wake up every single morning grateful for the freedom to do as I choose.
My oldest sister, Val, has been in town for the past few weeks. All of my other siblings live in the area so it is a real treat to have her visit so the family is all together. My parents would be proud to see how close their children are to one another. This time of year is always a bit bittersweet for me as my parents and my sister Deb are no longer earthbound and I miss being with them.
As the new year approaches, I want to leave you all with a photo of me and "my sibs", as I call them. They are near and dear to me. They are my best friends, a part of my wonderful support network. I have no doubt that they would drop everything for me if life dictated such a response. We all would, and have done so, for one another.
We laugh, we cry, we chat, chat, chat and we laugh some more. On Christmas Val said she had a headache from laughing so much.
Not a day goes by that I don't talk to at least one of my sisters.
Dear Ooka girls(this is what we call ourselves), I love you all so very much. You are the center of my heart around which everything else revolves. Life is so much more fun, so much more fulfilling because we are a family!
Greg, you are at the center of my heart, too. They have just been with me since the day I was born!
The day I was born my dad called home to tell my sisters whether I was a boy or a girl. When they found out I was a girl, they danced around the house singing "it's a girl, it's a girl." They were relieved. What would they do with a brother?
I have always felt loved, cared for and protected. Honestly I say I had 7 mothers. Six older sisters and one mother that birthed me!
On December 27, 2008 my Auntie Sumi celebrated her 80th birthday. She isn't a *true* aunt in the bloodline way. She was my mom's best friend. This photo was taken at her birthday party.
From Left to Right: Naomi, Cheryl, Val, Karen, Auntie Sumi, Kathy and Trish.
As I leave this post to go party with my sibs, I wish you all the best for 2009! Be safe tonight and I'll see you in the New Year!
2 comments:
This is so heart warming. I loved the photo of the Ooka girls. Family and friends are where it's at, isn't it? Can't believe it took me so long to really understand that. My life is so much richer because of them. Happy New Year to you dear friend.
You are so lucky to have so many sisters - what a great photo!
Happy New Year!
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