Hold My Hand Sissy

I have a little sister
Now life is not the same
I never even missed her
Before I knew her name

Mommy tried to bring her home
I said to take her back
She looked just like a little gnome
All squished up in a sack

Dad said she'd lose her wrinkles
And even grow some hair
But all she does is tinkle
And laugh at me and stare

That was all in yesterday
When she was very young
Now she's grown in every way
My story's almost done

Today my sissy's twenty-one
Quite gorgeous, just like me
Mom says she's worth her weight in gold
I'm still glad she was free

I wrote this poem for my sister, Melony Michelle. We have been through
everything together...Some good and some bad.

She was born in October of 1975. We lived in Greenfield, Massachusetts
in a two-story yellow house and Melony was the fourth child in our
family.

Within a week, she was driving me nuts! All that drooling and
pooping...Yuck! She never seemed to shut up for more than two seconds
either. And, when you're a kid, two seconds seems like two hours!

From the time she learned how to talk, I was always, "sissy". She even
got the boys to call me that. I hated it then, but I love to hear her
call me that now.

When she was six, mom and dad bought her a dirt bike. I thought I'd
teach her how to ride it. Our 'sweet' brothers told me to pull back on
the right handle when I wanted to stop! Needless to say, I 'stopped'
myself right through a barbedwire fence. After they quit laughing, they
told me they 'accidentally' mistook the gas for the brakes!

Melony helped me up then decided to show them up. She got on and did
just fine...Until she hit a pothole, flipped the bike, and punctured
her kidney! This, of course, made for a nice trip to the hospital. She
was okay after a few weeks of being really sore. The boys, of course,
were grounded.

Between my oldest daughters, I suffered a miscarriage. I was in my
sixth month. Melony and mom were there for the whole thing. The pain
and loss were easier to deal with, knowing that my sister and mother
were there to hold my hand and feel my pain with me.

When I was 16, our house burned down. I didn't live there at the time,
but Melony and the rest of our family did. I left Clearwater, Florida
and came back to take care of Melony. Mom was in Galveston, Texas with
our brother, James. He was severely burned over most of his body. Dad
was in Gainesville, Florida in a burn ward. He had saved James and in
the process burned most of his body. Melony was fine, but left alone.
She and I found a house and got in touch with the Red Cross to help get
the family back on our feet. We helped to keep each other sane during
this stressful time.

I never realized that Melony looked up to me at any time in my life.
We were sitting and talking one day, and she told me that she always
looked up to me, and she thought I was so cool! This! From my baby
sister! Then she added, "Until I saw what a nerd you really
were."

I was always concerned with my grades and standing out...Not looking
'cool'. When I hit my mid-twenties, Melony finally talked me into
matching my clothes and looking 'decent'. I almost always look
presentable now. The kids are almost always in style too, thanks to
their aunt.

We've always made it a point, as adults, to be there whenever the other
needed something. With four kids, I'm usually on the debt end of it.
She buys school clothes and is always there to baby-sit or spend time
with us. I never realized how much I enjoyed being around my sister
until we moved away from her.

We lived in Buffalo, New York for a few years and Melony lived in
Florida. This wasn't too hard until she came up for a five-day visit. I
couldn't stand it when she left. It only took us a short while to move
closer to her down south.

Now, we're on our way to Maine. Of course, Melony will be going too.
We've decided that we'll never move away from each other again. We may
not always agree, and that's okay. It's all part of being sisters.