First, there's Kelly, pint-sized math teacher, salsa-dancer, and latte drinker extraordinaire. We used to teach classes next door to each other at Maya Angelou, and I can truly say that every day Kelly made me a better teacher. Maybe it was our competitive spirit, but we always pushed each other do do more for our kids than we had the day before. Kelly has been a DC teacher of the year finalist, worked at the highest performing charter school in the country, and works harder for the toughest kids than anyone I know. Plus, according to our student Rissa, "Your sister, she be tellin' the corniest jokes. And she be THE ONLY ONE LAUGHING!!!"
Then we have Rebecca, or Rebes. We used to spell her name Rebs until she learned about vowel-
consonant-e and told us we were spelling it wrong. Yeah. That's Rebes. She struggled greatly in middle and high school, yet somehow grew up to be a brilliant, funny, kind, supportive, hilarious mother and friend. I can always count on Rebes to keep it real with me, especially grouchy real when I beat her at poker. And to see her with her son Aiden, well, it's the most beautiful thing. She loves him so much, and respects him as a person, though he is not yet even two. She is teaching him to be independent and funny. Plus he says Nana (his name for our mom) whenever he sees a glass of red wine. There's a lot of funny in the family.
A few years ago, just when I thought our family couldn't get better, we added Span. What kind of name is Span, you ask? A GREAT ONE. Span, or Andrea, is our brother Thomas' person. And she is one of my top 10 favorite people in the world. She is hilarious, humble and crafty, and brings out the best in my brother. In fact, she brings out the best in all of us. I admire Span so much for the way she has faced challenge and tragedies in her life, and she makes me want to be a stronger person. Plus, she made me the best bitstrip character possible.
So tonight, after a day full of g-chatting and text messaging, I'm so thankful for all of my sister sister sisters.
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