In My Shadow

My sister and I have not always seen eye to eye. I wasn't the easiest sister to have. Tammy was born three and a half years after I was for one thing, then there was the fact that she had to grow up in the shadow of my disabilities. That is no easy task for a child. I was sick a lot and in the hospital a lot and whenever possible my mother tried to stay at the hospital with me which was hard on my sister because she was shuffled from house to house and family member to family member. There were times when my mom couldn't stay with me like when I was in the crippled children's home for nine months in a body cast to heal up after bone grafts in my back. My parents came every week to see me for two hours a week and since it was in Memphis it was a long drive so Tammy was left behind for that too. I can't imagine how she felt being left behind at such a young age (2 years)and not understanding why. I was so resentful of her for so many years and jealous of her honestly I didn't realize until I was reading something a friend wrote the other day and I realized, I am not the only one to have suffered because of my disabilities. My sister suffered too. Sooooo this post is a toast and a cheer to my sister. I am sorry for what you had to go through, Tambo, it was not fair at all and I just want to say I love you and even though we have our differences sometimes, you are stronger than you think. I am lucky to have you and grateful to have you. This might be a bit mushy for y'all but I felt it needed to be said.