Today is my eldest niece's 23rd birthday! I affectionately refer to her as Squirt, since I was only 15 when she was born and she was the closest thing to a little sister that I would ever get. Her mother is my 2nd oldest sister, C. Squirt is her miracle..Sis C was told at age 19 that she would probably never have children. Sis C had a lot of medical problems since the age of 2 and had had about 18 surgeries before the age of 26. So, when Sis C got married and went on her honeymoon, she came home to discover, in shock, that she was pregnant! We were all so excited.
Then, at only 7 months gestation, my 3 sisters were shopping at a local Mall when Sis C's water broke. Of course, they rushed her right into the hospital. She was then transfered to one of the big Boston hospitals because of the high risk of giving birth so early. I had been at my little cousin's soccer game and came home to find a note from my Mom that everyone (except me!) was at the hospital with Sis C and that she was having the baby. I was so scared, home alone, and pissed off because I wanted to be with everyone. My brother's friend happened to call the house and I answered the phone in tears, so he very kindly offered to drive me in to the hospital. Just as he was pulling up to the house, my other 2 sisters came home to get me. We picked up dinner for everyone and headed back to the hospital to wait for the news. When Sis C's husband came around the corner, he had his hands raised in the air, triumphantly, and said "It's a girl!". We all cheered like a team who just scored the winning run!
Squirt was the light of my life. Everything she did and said was so amazing to all of us - it was almost bordering on sickening!!! I babysat at every given opportunity, and when she was school age she used to come to work with me during school vacations. All of my co-workers loved having her there - she had (and still has) such a sarcastic, funny personality that it was like having your own personal comedian around! I was also lucky enough to have her come to work with me again, this time in a much different way. Because I work at a college and "our" students go home during winter break, we needed other help and so we hired "outside" college students. Squirt fit the bill, so she started working in my office and did so for 3 winter breaks in a row. My other niece, K, also worked in the office during breaks. It was so awesome to be able to hang out with them during my workday, and also watch them interact with my other co-workers and the other students.
Squirt has had her share of health issues through the years, and seeing her go through surgeries and other problems in her life have been difficult to watch, almost physically painful to me. But I feel like she is strong. And I mean strong INSIDE, and that her inner strength will get her through just about anything. After all, she IS her mother's daughter, and Sis C is pretty invincible! Honestly, I cannot wait to see what she does with her life and am excited to be a part of it!
So, Happy 23rd Birthday, Squirt - my little sister, my heart.
I love you all the way up to the moon. And back. Go get 'em!
Love, Aunnie G
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