Self Portrait Tuesday: Sisters

This month's theme is personal history.

So here it is. That's me on the left with the blonde hair and my sister on the right. Her name is Jackie and she's two years older than me.

It's one of my favorite (and the few) photos of my sister and I--just the two of us. I like it because it shows the relationship even we didn't know we had. For the most part, we grew up in conflict. Or so we thought-- mostly because our parents somehow made us think we didn't like each other, that we were irreconcilable opposites. My mom wanted silence. My dad protected that at all costs. Therefore, even the most minor of sisterly arguments were blown out of proportion.

It wasn't until my sister had kids of her own, six years ago, that we realized just how important we are to each other. We began to understand that although we were always told we were opposites, in reality there is no else in the world that holds as many similarities.

Looking back I realize that my sister and I would have done anything to protect the other--and just like the photograph reveals--we did. Growing up, we were not close in a typical way. But as adults we make up for the lost time. There is no one that could ever replace her. And because we share a life-long history--we are different, but we are the same.