When Mei turned seven, I gave her a composition notebook that I hoped we could use as a shared journal, a place where we could spill secrets, ask nosy questions, and write about our days. The two of us planned to write an entry every night and place the notebook under the other person's pillow (our "secret hiding place"), where Mom and Dad wouldn't find/read it. It wasn't like we didn't see enough of each other that we had to exchange letters...it's just that, as anyone with siblings will know, there are certain things that just don't get said amidst brushing your teeth side by side, eating dinner with the family, or passing each other around the house. I also figured that since Mei was entering second grade, she might start liking boys or at least thinking about the "birds and the bees"...and I wanted to be the first to know, if/when this happened.
We've written each other regularly ever since, and when I left for college, we continued the journal online. This past summer, Mei and I decided to dig out that first composition notebook we shared and read through old entries. Here are my favorites:
We've written each other regularly ever since, and when I left for college, we continued the journal online. This past summer, Mei and I decided to dig out that first composition notebook we shared and read through old entries. Here are my favorites:
In case the photo isn't clear, it says: "Jennifer, this is a secret so don't tell anybody not even Dippindots. O.k. this is it. I like you more than anybody else? YOU KNOW WHAT?"
(Dippindots was my bunny.)
I love the random drawing of a boat in the middle, and how she crossed out =( and changed it to =/ after mentioning Cameron. I love my sister...
(Sorry, I don't know why it's sideways.)
Mei has a lot of unique qualities--complete randomness (as exhibited above), an unpredictable temper (the Water Gun Incident, in which she hit an annoying little boy on the head with a water gun, and also the time she bit her preschool teacher), effortless hilarity (her imitations of Dad are incredible), acquiring the strangest injuries (sitting on her own thumb and spraining it, being knocked out by the zip line at school, running into a pole etc.), not to mention her unparalleled skill of avoiding any form of work. But if I had to pick one trait that sets her apart from the masses, it's her sweetness.
When she was a baby, she sat in my room and watched me practice, then she would wobble over to her toy chest, take out two plastic sticks, and mime playing a violin with them. When I entered high school, she bragged to all her friends about her sister, the "refreshment" (she meant to say "freshman"). And now that she is the freshman in high school and I'm in college across the country, she still shares her life details with me...I know about her Group at school, who likes whom, what the homecoming themes are...If we don't have a chance to talk on the phone, she writes in our blog, and she reads what I write too.
Some people think in words, others think in images, sound bites, or feelings/sensations. When I think of people, I think in snapshots, and when Mei comes to mind, these are the snapshots that play out in my brain:
-her running downstairs to get my textbook for me from my room because I'm too lazy to walk there myself
-her bursting into tears whenever I mentioned leaving for college
-her always giving me the bigger half when we split food
-the pride in her eyes when she tells people about me
-her jumping to my defense when I argued with Mom and Dad (although she usually hindered more than helped)
-her sitting patiently on my bed at 2am as I sobbed over some heartbreak or another
-her laughing at my jokes/weirdness so hard that she can barely breathe
The amazing thing is, over the years and now that she's a teenager, she hasn't lost any of that sweetness.
A) She loves our parents and makes an effort to spend time with them, even if they annoy her. Like last Halloween, I asked, "So did you go trick-or-treating?" and she said, "Nah, my friends went, but Dad was too tired, so I stayed home with him."
B) When I'm home, she's still my personal servant...she follows me around the house and gets me water/food or whatever I want. Of course I ask for it politely and stuff, but still. Actually she's pretty much the family lapdog...Dad is always making her get ice cream and orange juice and stuff like that for him.
C) Every night, she tells my parents that she loves them. And she says it first...it's not like the typical teenager situation where the parent goes, "I love you," and the kid goes "Yeah yeah, love you too."
D) I'm still her best friend. I know we're sisters and it's not that big of a deal, but this seriously means the world to me. Remember that first photo above? Well, here is something she wrote in our blog about a week ago: "When Jonathan and I were doing this dialogue thing for classwork, he was like, 'so what's your favorite person's initals?" and i'm like, 'j w' because well JENNIFER WEY. and then he's like 'jonathan walters?' and i was like 'wowwww no. jennifer wey...' hahahaha who on earth would say something like that?? so ridiculous. Oh well. OKAY well i'm going to sleeepppp. GOOD NIGHTEO! <3"
Some things never change (I hope). I'm sure she doesn't realize it, but every time she writes to me, it makes me so happy...my whole day just lights up.
Having siblings is indispensable. I am lucky enough to have the greatest, sweetest, loveliest sister imaginable, and there is really nobody in my life quite like her.
