New life means new beginnings

As I posted earlier, my sister gave birth to her son Ronan Crawford Marchese this afternoon, and I am totally stoked! This means so many things to me on so many different levels. First of all, it means that we throw our sisterly fights out the window and celebrate!

I know that most readers know about mine and my sister's childhoods. blah blah blah, my sister came to live with me in Tenessee when she was 14... whoa! I was at personal crossroads, and my sister became not only a sister, but like my own child. I look back and have the biggest smile when I think of her and I making the trip to Kentucky to visit the corvette museum, or the nights that we would endure Tennessee storms together.. we have so many memories, I could go on and on.

I know I made some poor decisions, and both Jessi and I had to learn from them, but we got stronger and my love for her only grew. Then, she met Will. I remember being so hesitant to let him come over to our house, but she was afterall 18 and I couldn't stop them from meeting up! I love my brother and I am so glad that they did meet!

It has been a hard journey for me, from being a sister to mother, and now just being back to plain old sister again. So many times I have tried to control her life and we have fought, but I only wanted to make situations easier for her so that she doesn't endure heartache- the mother knows best syndrome. She married Will and moved out of my house and made a life of her own. This was so hard for me. Even though I was in my early twenties and living my own rambunctious life, I wasnt quite ready for her to leave my nest. She was a sort of safety net for me. My only family within 2500 miles! But, Jessi has proven that she will make her way!

Now, she's a mommy! I am learning better boundries in our relationship, and am still learning and struggling with letting her go. I am so proud of her thogh. She really will be an excellent mom and I know that she will love Ronan more than she thought was possible. I want our boys to know each other so well... I want to share everything that parenting has to offer with her and keep the beauty of our sisterhood alive as our aunts have done. I think now that she is a mom I have realized that I must now see her as my equal, and not like the little sister that needs me for direction, but needs me more as a friend! This is a new beginning and I am so excited for this journey! Despite all flaws, I am so incredibly lucky to have an amazingly loving family! My sister and I can never complain that we weren't loved-and still loved by so many other than just our parents! I hope our children say the same for us!