Better with Age

Today is my middle sister, Kara's, birthday. I hope it's marvelous because I love you to the moon and back. Here's some of what passes for thoughts that I offered on her Natal Anniversary several years ago. I called it at the time:

They Say It's Your Birthday

The world is a much better place because Kara is in it, and our family is fortunate to have her as a relative, even if, as Einstein stated, everything is relative. (Could that mean everything is Einstein? I'm asking because it would explain the bramble that is often my hair when I awake.)

Kara and I shared a short overlapping childhood as I was transitioning away, as she was becoming her own person. And in a sense, I suspect, she sees herself more often as Jill and Adam's older sister than as the younger sibling of our brother, Kelly, and sister, Evan, with whom I spent far more years, only because their luck wasn't as good as Kara's.

Kara and her husband, Russ, have their own all-grown family now, complete with a grandchild. I've discovered the easiest way to track the passing of time is to look at my children, as they are better indicators of how far we have all come than any mirror can hope to ever tell me. I imagine I am not the only one who has made that discovery.

Russ and the Birthday Girl Woman

Kara should actually be our ambassador to the United Nations, as she has a genius for persuading people to do things they would otherwise never consider, and while doing so, convincing them that it was all their own idea in the first place, while she is pleased and proud to help them.

I believe she (and my (and her)) younger sister Jill can actually pull off the Tom Sawyer paint the fence trick, but it's Kara who organizes the trip to the hardware store to get the brushes and the drop clothes. And she'll even help you muscle them into the van.

I wasn't around when our Mom was a kid-or a teen-or a young woman. I caught up with her as a young mother (and was, technically, the first reason why she was a young mother), but I have always thought Kara most resembles what our Mom must have been like when we were too small to really remember.

You cannot help but smile when you are with Kara-I am smiling now as I type this, thinking of her because she is relentlessly cheerful no matter the situation. My brother-in-law has impeccable judgment, excellent taste, and superior good fortune. Happy Birthday, Kara!

-bill kenny