Yesterday was my sister Kit's birthday. I spent all afternoon making her a carrot cake and some pink Valentine cookies for her modest surprise party. In my small, but cozy kitchen I thought about Kit and I as little girls. So many memories passed through my mind, some silly, some serious, but mostly silly. I remembered playing in the back of the truck and getting in a fight and pushing her off the tailgate and onto the concrete...Kit's first stitches. Mean older sister, I know. I also remember her writing "Kindell was here" on the wall in red crayon in an attempt to get me in trouble. Note to self: most people don't spell their own names wrong when leaving graffiti, a clear indicator of the real mastermind. Often times we would bicker and tease, but we also laughed...a lot. I don't recall how it started, but once we got into a small water fight in our bedroom. Someone splashed the other by the bathroom sink which escalated into a run to the kitchen for a glass of water, which of course was followed by a pitcher, and ultimately ended in Kit running outside, turning on the garden hose and hoisting it into the open bedroom window on full blast with her little thumb over the end to ensure maximum spray in my direction. It wasn't until my Dad walked past the closed bedroom door and felt the squish of soaking wet carpet between his toes that he swung the bedroom door wide to find two dripping wet girls, in a dripping wet bedroom, having the best dripping wet time ever with the garden hose in the window.
When we got a little older my Mom and Dad decided that it was time we had our own rooms and they remodeled the bedrooms in the basement to accommodate our growing family. In the mean time Kit and I had to share a bed in one bedroom while the other was being finished. It was cold and dark and a bit scary, but we had each other. We called it the "Mountain Room" because of the huge wall paper mural of a mountain scene from the sixties pasted on the wall. We stuck glow-in-the-dark stars all over it so that when we turned out the lights the mountain scene became a glowing night sky. I would try to cuddle up next to Kit, I was always cold, and she would scoot away and take all the blankets. We would talk until late at night and giggle about silly girl things. She swore I snored every night and I complained of her bony ankles kicking me awake. Once the rooms were finished and we each had our own little private corner of the house, I missed her. It was too quiet in my room and her absence made me realize that I actually kinda liked my annoying little sister. We grew up and life took us separate directions for a while with school and marriage. When Ben and I moved back to Utah it was like getting to know Kit all over again, now a grown woman. I realized once again her absence in my life and I missed her presence. My annoying little sister had been replaced with a strong and beautiful woman. I love her dearly and sometimes wish for that small room we shared all our secrets in so many years ago. Happy Birthday Kit!
