Wonder Woman is my Sister

I was two years old when she was born. My Mama tells me that I was never jealous when she got here. She did a lot of talking and preparation before Melanie arrived -- laying out the baby clothes, letting me touch them, and talking about the child in her tummy. When Mel appeared, I assumed she was my personal baby doll. We were always very close, even when the school bus came and took me away. I remember her waiting at the driveway for me after school. We eventually sat on the bus together, played together, ate together. My Mama gave up on the bunk beds after a time because we always ended up giggling and talking in the same bed rather than be separated. This continued all the way through school, even high school, where we shared our friends, clothes, jewelry, makeup and lunch. We had maybe a handful of fights through all those years. I can remember all of them: #1--a couple of times when she whipped me at basketball in the driveway and I found my jealous streak, #2--we had a smack-down in the car, driving down the road, when she was mad at me because I was leaving for college, #3--I visited her at Berry College and she got all sassy with me, #4--a not-pretty, epic one a few years back where I got rebellious on her. I am pretty sure that ranks up there with miracles, and I'm not exactly certain why. My other friends fought all the time with their siblings and seemed to hate them. Melanie was my best friend, confidante and playmate, all rolled into one. 

We were very different in temperament and personality, she being more intense, introverted and driven. She had (and has) more gumption in her little finger than anybody I know. Fearless, competitive, quick, athletic. She slaved away at her studies and had good grades (and good study habits). The athletics came easy to her.  I was the extrovert, friendly and flighty. I slaved away at the athletics but the grades came easy to me. We trusted each other and thought the best of each other. Whatever my parents did right, I wish I could have bottled it. I'll save my brother's story for another day, but we were similarly close. How does that happen?! The culture of our home didn't include jealousy. Mama and Daddy were both strong-minded people, but somehow they gave way to each other and had a united front. This translated to us kids and that was how we got along.

Growing up, Melanie would say that she was not going to have kids. She was going to be a career woman and climb the ladder of success. I played with baby dolls and puppies. Time went by. We married within 6 weeks of each other, to two guys who were best friends. Something drastically changed, because in short order we were both popping out babies. Ken and I had four, but Brian and Melanie seemed to have finally stopped, in their middle years, at eleven children. She says that she quit mixing their laundry together and that seems to have stopped it. Of course we all homeschooled our children. I've had three careers since we quit homeschooling, but Mel is still at it. This next year, she'll have only three left to teach, so she thinks she's having empty nest syndrome. Not only does she practically run the world, she helps myriads of people out in countless ways. She's very opinionated, bossy and beautiful. A force to be reckoned with. Steadfast, unmoving in her Christianity. Her accomplished, tough exterior hides the kindest, most tender heart imaginable. Her home is the epitome of hospitality. If anyone stops by, they are going to eat. Or at least have a cup of coffee. Sunday afternoons are old-school, with boatloads of teenagers, stragglers and grandparents showing up after church for lunch. If Melanie wasn't doing all that, she'd be running some Fortune 500 company. She reversed her original idea, raised a pile of great kids, and is changing the world. She says they're taking over. I say, hallelujah.