Dear Sister...(A Letter From the Heart)

Dear sister,

I know you'll find it strange getting a letter from your baby sister after not speaking for a couple of years. The last time we got together was about three years ago in Nebraska. You, your husband, and your darling son were invited to stay a week with us since you guys were on the move from Washington State to Florida. You guys accepted. I will admit that I was nervous. I was so nervous that my muscles were rather tight. Before then, I hadn't seen you in over a decade and I was terrified with whom I would meet with.

I don't remember if I went with dad and mom (whom you don't see her as such) to meet you and the family. I might have stayed with the dogs to keep an eye on them. I don't remember much of the visit except that we played games together (you, me and your husband). It was a good time whenever we played games, but when it came to conversations with dad, you just left me and our stepmother out. She didn't show it, but I knew that she was agitated as was I. You only came over because of dad and other material things. In spite of all of that, I was willing to overlook that because I'm a person who believes in giving others the benefit of the doubt.

I loved your little boy, Alex (a.k.a. Jessie). He was such a sweetheart. He was willing to sit with me and look at the Spanish dictionary that I had been given as a child. We looked at all of the colorful pictures together and he sat still. So for you to say that he doesn't do well when it comes to learning stuff doesn't do him justice. Sure, a teacher might have said that he might be ADD but I've learned that those with ADD or ADHD tend to be more creative. Dad told you that the teacher just wanted to have your son medicated just because she wanted more control of your son. What does she know, huh?

Your husband, Brian, was an amazing guy. He tried to keep mom and me in the loop and he's a good dad to your boy. When it was just the two of us playing a good game of Cribbage, we had a good time. Somehow, though, I got the impression that this bothered you a lot. I really hate it when I step on people's toes, but at the same time, you didn't say anything about it. Then again, you never said anything to me. The only times that you did speak to me were during games and whenever I said 'good night' to you. I think mom was definitely getting annoyed with you by then since your attitude hadn't gotten any better over the years. I hate to say it, but your husband treated me better than you did. He actually called me 'little sister' as he hugged me on the day you guys left.

You, on the other hand, treated me like I wasn't even there. Do you know how much that hurt me? Of course you don't. You didn't even bother to get to know me in the week that you had stayed with us in Lincoln. Even when we went to the mall to give you and Brian a tour of the town, you just left me in the dust. I guess the good thing that came out of that was that I got to know my adorable nephew more and that dad got to hold his grandson...and speaking of grandson, congratulations on your second child. I'm happy for you and Brian. The one thing that bother's me, though, is that you never called back when you had your second little boy. We don't know what he looks like or what his name is. You just shut us all out and left us hanging. That's why our stepmother finally made the decision to cut you loose because you burned all of the bridges between us. That's why you'll never have contact with dad ever again, because of your poor attitude.

I guess I can go on about being angry at you, but I really don't want to be angry with you anymore. I would definitely say that you were misguided since you were the firstborn child to our mother and didn't really get any proper child rearing. I really shouldn't say something like that but I couldn't find any other way to say it. I think you and I could have been really close had you come with me and dad that day when he and our step mom were leaving for Louisiana. However, you made the choice to stay and Texas and thats' where we are now. I tried to locate you on Facebook but you were nowhere to be seen and I tried to get to you through my brother-in-law but I hadn't had much luck either.

All in all, if it came down to it, I know I would definitely forgive you for everything because I love you and you are my sister.

Love, your little sister,

Jen