Happy Birthday Crystal!

Last week my little sister celebrated her 29th birthday. It’s sort of a Happy thought to me to think that 29 years ago I became a BIG sister. Finally I had somebody to which I could dispel all of my knowledge and superior experience to. Truth be told though- that one year meant very little when it comes to Crystal and I as we really are two peas in a pod in so many ways. Yes that's right- Crystal is her name. I have a sister named Jewel, and a sister named Crystal. Isn't that great? "Two beautiful priceless little gems," I can picture my parents saying when each of them were born. And then there was me. .....Tanis.

(The whole name thing didn’t really help with the middle child syndrome I had as a kid- but that's ok, I'm good with it now.)

It was my intention this year to wish a special Happy Birthday to each of my siblings on their birthdays, by embarrassing them a bit here on the old blog. I feel ashamed that I did not have this post ready for Crystals actual birthday- but better late then never right? So without further ado- some things about my sister that a lot of people may not know:

• When Crystal was little she used to collect the strangest things. She had hundreds of stuffed animals, that she housed in a small room underneath our basement stairs.
• She also collected gummy bears. As in the candy. She would save each and every gummy bear she was ever given and would even make toilet paper clothing for them.
• Crystal LOVES animals and was always rescuing some sort of creature. She once saved the ugliest little newborn mice ever and fed them with a dropper. They had NO HAIR!!!
• Crystal can sing a pretty mean version of Whitney Houston’s “I will Always Love You,” though you might have to get her into a yellow Jeep in order to hear her let loose like that

• I used to make Crystal lay beside me at night and rub/tickle my arm. And bless her heart-she would!
• Two of the most valuable lessons I’ve ever learned in my life - I learned from her. Once as we went on a late night drive to look at the comet Hale-Bopp, and another time as we sat in a canoe on Wabamum lake fishing together.
• Crystal and I went on a high school marine biology course/trip while we were both in High School. Some of the neatest things I’ve ever seen in nature- I saw with her.

• Crystal is the only one in my family who has a University Degree. I have a mere diploma (which my Dad would have said does not really count)!
• Crystal has done some amazing things with her Environmental/Tree Hugger Degree. She has worked with Owls (and can tell you how EVERY owl sounds), birds, she studied Ground Squirrels in Utah and has been a part of Studies in the Great Bear Rain forests of BC! Get this- she has worked with someone who worked with DAVID SAZUKI! AHHHH Right? She has literally sat on a Rock during a Salmon run and watched as BEARS fed on fish right beside her!
• Crystal and I lived together as Young Single Adults in Edmonton. It’s probably during that time that she became not just my sister but my Friend.
• Crystal is an Old Soul. Her style is truly one of kind. She bonds with the Elderly really well (wink wink), and she is not the type to bend her character just to impress. She is so much wiser then her age in so many ways.

Perhaps the most wonderful thing about Crystal that I could share is that she is a selfless person with a good heart. This past summer has been rough for me. ( Have I mentioned that yet?) Being told that I have a type of Rheumatoid Arthritis has for some reason shaken me to the core. I’ve worried too much about all sorts of things that I know I can’t change. Last week Crystal dropped everything and came to stay with us for several days. She brought her two little kids and her pregnant belly and came to be with me! Her and Jewel filled my freezer with meals. Crystal listened to my fears, she reassured me, and she didn’t judge me when I threw my tantrums. She would lay beside me just like she used to when we were younger, and for some reason just having her around was such a comfort. I don’t know what I’d do without my Siblings!!!

Tonight I came across some letters that Crystal had written years ago as she was backpacking through one of her crazy wildlife adventures. As I read through this letter tonight it brought me to tears as I realized that her advice to me 10 years ago applies so much more to me now then it ever did back then.

Here is part of what she wrote:

“Tanis, today as we were driving to work there was an old man walking down the highway with a huge sign sticking out of his backpack which read, “LOVE LIFE.” So badly I wanted to stop the car and talk to this man that LOVED LIFE. I realized how much I get caught up in life and forget to live. This simple, old stranger, alone on the highway, was a good reminder to me that we have to make the most out of our lives. Don’t let life pass you by. Love it! Don’t forget to live. Don’t forget to laugh. And don’t forget to love those around you. These things, I think, are the formula to Happiness.”

See what I mean.
I am so glad to have such a Wise Little Sister!

Happy Birthday Crystal! I hope it was as Special as you are!