BYE BYE, SANDY

Watching my sister and her new husband Stefan drive away to their new lives in Washington was a sad event for me this morning. Sad because it's guaranteed that I won't see her until Christmas, whereas before I'd have plenty of opportunities to see her smiling face.

I didn't take her up on many of those opportunities while she lived in Grand Forks and in Fargo, and I know that there isn't any use for me beating myself up about it because that seems to be the way that things go sometimes. People grow up and grow apart and find their own lives and ways.

I've just never been so far away from someone so close to me in my family. So I'm feeling grief because no matter how close we were or how much we disliked each other at times in our lives she was always my friend. She was good at telling me the things I didn't want to hear and I think I might have held myself back from her for that reason sometimes.

And so here it is that she's showing me another inevitable truth. People grow up and people move on. I'm glad that she's so excited to get to Washington. I can only hope that when I move, I'll have the same attitute towards it. I don't want to be the one clinging to the farmhouse with white knuckles. I want to be looking forward to my time to spread my wings too. I don't know if it will be possible, but at least I've got my big little sister Sandy to show me that it's possible.

I know they're going to make wonderful lives for themselves. They're both so happy with what they have and who they are - they're an unstoppable force if they choose to be. I want to wish her all the luck in the world, but she's not the one who needs it. She's got her whole world packed into (and onto) a black Explorer heading 75 mph down the interstate.

And I'm sure they'll be smiling the whole way there.