Did you know that April 10 is National Siblings Day? Who comes up with all these special days to celebrate? I’m glad Claudia Evart thought of a day for us to reflect on the value of siblings. This is the day we get to talk about them in public.
My only—OLDER, of course—sister, Vicki Martin Alpern, lives in Atlanta. We grew up in Pampa, Texas, with a loving mother and father. And to this day, like many of us, we have stories we have sworn to secrecy that we would NEVER recite on a day like today. So Vicki, if you’re reading this….shhhh! Who is this amazing sister of mine?
Vicki was my pal in elementary school. When we were homebound because of snow, we played Santa (even though it was January). We wrapped our toys in FOIL and gave them to each other, all for the thrill of opening packages. (Foil? Really, mother? What were you thinking? Foil is expensive!)
Vicki was my secret agent when I was in middle school. Since she had her driver’s license and was in high school, she transported my love notes in her red hot Mustang to my boyfriend in her school each day. Then, when she’d get home after school, I’d get his note back to me out of the glove compartment. (Daddy and mother never knew, of course!)
Vicki was my enemy in high school. After all, what are siblings for? She inconvenienced me every morning, begging me to “rat her hair” so it would flip up perfectly in the back. Why did this bother me? Because I had my own hair to fluff.
Vicki was my cohort in college. We shared that same car—the red hot Mustang—at Texas Tech. We had a designated spot we parked it and whoever got to it first claimed it. Not sure how we didn’t argue over that car, but we didn’t. Maybe it was because we were Pi Beta Phi sorority sisters. With the “angel” being our emblem, how could we not be perfect little angels. And there were other college memories not to be shared—such as the night daddy and mother were in town and took us to dinner and she kicked me under the table – HARD – when I didn’t tell the truth.
And finally, Vicki was and IS my best friend today.
I found some cool quotes about siblings, but here is mine: “Your sister is the only person who knows what it’s like to have been brought up by a mother where it was a sin to chew gum or use a toothpick in public or come home from college wearing ratty clothes.” “My gad!” she would say. (And I did say “gad” not “God.” Mother would never say that!)
So, on this Siblings Day, I celebrate one of the greatest gifts my parents ever gave me: my sister (whom I call my “seester”) VICKI MARTIN ALPERN, a person as close to me as my own hands and feet!
About Pam Kanaly
Aloha! I’m Pam Kanaly, President and co-founder of Arise Ministries. But actually, I think Arise found me wanting to bless single moms years ago. Ministry was never on my mind as a kid. All I wanted to be was a hula dancer. So Mother enrolled me in the tiny tots’ class. Guess God knew I’d have two grandbabies born in Hawaii. I love the great outdoors. You might even find me spending time with my husband grizzly bear watching or camping. In fact, it was on a turkey hunt that God gave me the name Arise Ministries in 2002. I suppose it’s a good thing that I majored in Grammar in college since I love to write words of encouragement to single moms.