11. Rebecca

This will be a gushy post. Just a heads up.

When my mom told me she was pregnant, both Jessica and I were hoping for a little brother. So we were disappointed from the start.

Then there was a baby shower and I was hugely jealous. (Note to baby shower attendees, if there are older siblings, get them a little something too, so they don't feel left out).

I was 6 when she was born. I don't remember first meeting her. But shortly there after was when I first remember having anxiety. I was worried about SIDS. I'd wake up and sneak in to make sure she was still breathing. I'd have dreams that something terrible happened to her (occasionally, I still do).

When she got a little older she got more fun. I could play dress up with her. I don't have a lot of specific memories of when she was little little.

When she was about 6, I convinced (or forced, as she remembers it) her to get a short haircut. It looked adorable. We were out to eat at Red Lobster, and the waiter thought she was a boy. He was mortified to have made the mistake (Rebecca wasn't happy either).  He brought her a foil swan filled with candy, and something else, I think. But after that, between his comment, and thr influence of The Simpsons, I started calling her Boy.  That nickname has stuck.

She became my ally. We would both pick on Jessica, sometimes inadvertently.  We would be endlessly silly together. But she was also my nemesis. previously mentioned, being the middle kid was hard.

I taught her to ride a bike, which was a trial for us both. But she can ride, so I suppose it was successful.

I got my licence while she was still in middle school, which meant I got/had to drive her around. We had some fun with that too. We'd do Whole Foods after Sunday School sometimes. I resented having to pick her up from school, when I was made to walk home (when I was her age).

I can remember tearfully embracing when she left for Virginia with my mom, and Jessica.

And sometime after that, she became my best friend. When she was younger she came to me for the "embarrassing" questions. We texted or spoke most days, still do.

She calls me her life partner, which is hilarious, but accurate. We are incredibly close for being 3000 miles apart.

I can't express how happy I am that my parents had an oops, and that she wasn't a boy. It's hard to imagine what my life would be like without her in it.