My ‘Little Bit’ of Childhood

“A sister is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost.” ~~ Marion Garretty

Me holding my “little bit” with Daddy close by!

I’m among the luckiest! I have a sister. In late summer 1972, Kathleen Lynn arrived — adorned with a crown of fuzzy, brown hair. Just shy of three, I wanted to hold her — a lot! Mom had learned a thing or two with me — her strong-willed firstborn. My motto: “I do it myself!” And Mom let me try many things independently, but picking up and holding Baby “Katha” (I thought her name was “Kath-a-leen” and I shortened it to “Katha”) was not one of them. I succumbed, desperate to hold this “little bit” — learning quickly that I had to ask for help. (One of the many — and best — “life lessons” I learned early on!)

This is me (on horse) and our first BFF, Jenny (with braids), and Katha (saying, “Cheese!” with eyes closed)!

Not long after Katha’s birth, our family purchased a home in the country, and we moved from one small Ohio town to another about twenty minutes away. Surrounded by cornfields and soybeans on three sides and a people-loving, environmentally-friendly (before it was common) family on the fourth, we grew and blossomed where we’d been planted — running through sprinklers in the summer and building snow forts in winter. The youngest of our neighbors’ children became our first best friend. She had long, brown braids, and her older sister — with eyes closed and hair swaying with the music — played the guitar as we sang along to “Puff the Magic Dragon” and “Time in a Bottle.” We were mesmerized, and moments like this, as well as countless others, filled our childhood with simple joy.

Katha and me riding bikes in the garage! (I LOVED those red, white, and blue pants!)

And though there was joy, there were sorrowful seasons, as well.  Beloved pets that “went to sleep.” A school friend who passed away much too young. Heartbreaks. Fears. And like all siblings, we had an abundance of “sour-ful” moments — arguing over whose turn it was to empty the trash can or feed the dog… “She’s breathing too loud!” or “Can’t she chew more quietly?” Once I tried to scare my sister by locking her out of the house. Our dad was so upset he put me outside and locked the door to “show me how it felt.” Katha stood on the inside looking at me, my lips quivering as tears fell, and she cried, too. “Daddy, let Sissy in! Please...” I did learn something that day — “Do unto others…”  Yet another valuable “life lesson.”

One season turned into another and another. The passing of time. We grew up. Whereas our three-year age difference was, for 5-year old me, something to be proud of (“She’s MY little sister!“), by age ten, 7-year old Katha was just plain annoying (“Yeah, she’s my LITTLE sister...”). At some point, “holding her” changed to “holding her down” — pretending she was a horse and coercing her to eat grass until she vomited. “Katha” changed her name to “Katie,” and I became “Sis” (though she’d always called me “Sissy”). I began to wear blue eye-liner and lip gloss, and Katie got her long hair cut mullet-style. (Yes, girls can have mullets, too!) By the time I was thirteen, I was best friends with a boy named Billy who — despite my dad’s rule that I couldn’t date until I was sixteen — came to visit and just “never really left” (Dad’s words). Sentimental, younger sister Katie was lonely for our childhood days — yes, even for the arguments that were birthed from our intimacy then. We no longer fought much; nor did we share much. At sixteen, I was withdrawn — battling insecurities unspoken as I struggled to maintain my position among my peers and with my “best friend” turned “boyfriend.” I, too, often longed silently for the past — the easier days of field-running through August-high corn and tadpole-catching in sun-spattered water . (We did enjoy country life to its fullest!) Sadly, those days seemed to have faded, like the setting sun at dusk. Much too soon.

The beginning of a difficult season, though we did manage a smile for the camera.

When I left for college, I said good-bye — not to a girl but to a young woman. Katie was, by that time, well into her high school career — making future plans of her own, enjoying increasing freedom and plentiful friendship. And like me, she had her share of struggles… insecurities. We’d both become familiar with peer pressure — having given in to some, as well as applied the “heat” on others that they might fall prey. We both had boyfriends that would later become our husbands. We shared a story… a history — and though we would be separated by many miles for over a decade, this common thread served to draw us close once again, despite the distance in miles and the passing of time. We found it to be true: Distance makes the heart grow fonder.

My Maid of Honor helping me fix my veil. (She was, by this time, my little “taller” sister!)

Although I didn’t know it when I left for college, I would be married only a year later. My sweet “Bit of Childhood” would stand beside me as my Maid of Honor. And today, all these “grown-up” years later, she’s still my “bit of childhood.” Katie lives only twenty minutes away with her husband and their three beautiful children. Like me, her oldest two are sons (Elijah “Eli” Joseph and Maxwell “Max” Scott), and her youngest — a daughter… sweet Alicen Elizabeth. When our Allie Elizabeth came to stay (Read “One More ‘Stone’ of Remembrance” for a more complete story!), the first child she met in a sea of unfamiliarity was Ali Beth. It didn’t matter that they’d never met before or that they shared no biological heredity or family history. From that day on, they’ve been writing their story together!

“We’re ‘best tou-sins‘!” Allie proclaims with joy.

And although they’ll have their share of sorrowful moments  — just like their mommas — and yes, many “sour-ful” moments, too, no doubt, they’ll bear these and share these with one another… each other’s “little bit of childhood.”

Allie Elizabeth and Alicen “Ali Beth” Elizabeth… best ‘t-ousins’!

Yes, I’m among the luckiest. I have a sister. Three years younger, Katie stands almost three inches taller, and those 1,082 days — well, they mean nothing. And yet… they were everything. Because as I waited for her from the day of my birth until the day of hers, I was without one of the greatest Gifts God could ever offer… making her arrival all those summer days ago that much more meaningful to me now. And though memories may fade, lost forever, I will always hold in my heart…

My sister… my forever friend.

Snuggling on Allie’s 3rd birthday (June 22), thankful for God’s incomparable Gifts!

“Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” ~~ Psalm 37:4