today is day sixteen. and i'm thankful for my sister. who happens to have a sweet heart.
and i don't just say that. i really MEAN it. from the time jennifer was a little girl, she was already making a difference in the world with her kindness, her ability to look out for others who needed a hand.
i still remember the name of a little boy in her elementary school class (i won't name him here because with the way things happen to me, he'd be likely to find himself on google in my blog...and it would turn out that she didn't really do ENOUGH to save him from a life of crime and i'd end up chopped in pieces because i outted him for being a naughty little boy...and so anyhow...he shall remain nameless...but i GUARANTEE my sister jennifer still remembers who i'm talking about...lol).
she was such a sweet girl. and he was SUCH a naughty boy. but she encouraged him to be kind, to be more obedient, to be more respectful. and the teacher said she had a calming influence on him. she was GOOD for him.
she's also good for me. and for this world. she has spent her life doing exactly what she did in that classroom as a very young girl. she has brought her calm, her love, her kindness to an unsettled world. the world is a better place because she takes the time to care.
my sister has suffered losses that would turn many into mean, angry people. not to say that sometimes she's NOT mean and angry (because trust me, i've seen THAT side too...hee hee hee...she DOES have some irish in her LOL)...but the losses, the grief, the pain have driven her even MORESO into her calling...which she simply could NOT walk out if she were mean and angry.
it's been about two years exactly since she and her family walked through a failed adoption. it was UNDOUBTEDLY the most difficult thanksgiving we have ever experienced. the memories come flooding back so vividly...so many memories from that day...just as i sit and type this out.
BUT BUT BUT...i went to bed last night just inspired by her...(by YOU, JENNIFER). we talked on the phone last night. she was driving a newborn...brand new, fresh from the hospital newborn baby...to a temporary home...you see, while my sister may not have ended up 'saving' the baby she THOUGHT she was going to 'save' she IS having an impact even greater. she is working for an agency that helps place children in families. and she is an INVALUABLE part of that team...
when she isn't at work, she's at home...giving love and care and encouragement to a teen mom and her twin girls...unconditionally. wholeheartedly. compassionately.
she could have shut her heart down. she could have closed it off...said NO MORE. there's too much pain. but instead she has ridden the wave of pain and is now USING THAT SAME PAIN to change her world. to change our world.
jennifer lynn, my sweet LADY GENEVIEVE, i am so so so so proud of you. you inspire me. thank you for loving me. thank you for having my back. for caring about me. for bringing me perspective. i adore you and i am so very glad to have you in my life, and so very THANKFUL TO HAVE YOU IN MY WORLD.
you DO make a difference. and i notice. thank you for carrying me, sometimes literally, when i couldn't stand on my own.
i love you,
lady gwen
xoxo
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