Across The Miles

Being far away from family stinks! Those of you who’ve spent time away from yours can probably relate. I’ve been away from mine for the better part of eight years. First came college. Then came marriage. Then came babies in the baby carriage. And all of it away from some of the people I love most on this earth.

You might be wondering, why this post? Why now after eight years? Truthfully, there isn’t a day that goes by when I don’t think about at least one member of my pre-marriage immediate family. But today was different. Today my little sister called. (Since I haven’t asked her permission to use her name on my site yet, she will be known as LS – little sis - throughout this post.)

LS and I are almost four years apart and it was just the two of us. This made growing up together difficult at times. It seemed like whatever phase she was coming to I was leaving. In most cases, our tastes varied dramatically. And to make matters worse, she was good at many of the things I was good at. And since I had been good at them first (and in some cases really good), she was almost never recognized for her accomplishments independent of mine. She was forever pegged as “Jessica’s little sister.” – a phrase which I believe has been the death of many a sibling relationship over the years. And it was true in our case as well. Until I went to college.

Sometimes a little space can be a good thing after all. In our case, during my college years, it worked wonders. LS and I began communicating. I would come home for a school break and she’d invite me into her room. We’d sit and talk on her bed like old friends (something we hadn’t done since grade school). I was reintroduced to my sister during those years. And I began to love her all over again.

As a result, we’re closer now than we probably ever were. But now we live on different sides of the country and can’t take advantage of our friendship. We call and talk, but it’s not the same as being able to curl up on her bed and find out how her day was. And today I was powerless when she told me that she’s been sick. That the doctors aren’t sure what’s wrong. That they have their theories and are doing their tests but that none of the options are welcomed ones.

I wanted to be there with her so badly today. I wanted to give her a hug and make her a cup of herbal tea and tell her everything’s going to be fine. But I’m half a continent away and they’ve yet to develop a technology that allows me to send hugs or herbal tea to her cell phone. So I’m stuck using the only technology I do have available. I’ll post this and hope that she reads it. I’ll hope that she feels loved and hugged and taken care of even though I’m too far away to do it in person. I’ll let her know that she means the world to me and that I love her.

And maybe in the process, I’ll inspire you my reader to tell a family member how much they mean to you. If you’re lucky enough to have them close by don’t stop at telling them. Grab ‘um and give ‘um a big squeeze. And a cup of herbal tea’s always nice too.