My Sisters - Thanksgivng's 14 days of 14 blessings

#11 - I am thankful for my sisters. My sisters have always been a large inspiration in my life. Each one has her own qualities that I admire and look up to. I am the youngest daughter in my family, so they have been my example ever since I can remember.

Tina - Tina is independent, generous, pretty, intelligent, and takes well care of herself and her family. It's hard to tell but I think she keeps a lot of her feelings inside and when she lets them out she doesn't let anything bother her. Tina knows what she wants and how to get it - she is emotionally strong. Tina is very mature, outgoing, and always trying new things. Even to this day I find I still want to be more like her "when I grow up."

As a child I only remember Tina in her teen years. After all she is between 8 and 9 years older than I am. She didn't feel like my sister at all at that time though. I remember her getting ready for dates to go to the disco, her dress, her golden necklace and feathered hair. She was and still is always so beautiful. I remember sneaking in her room to look at her posters on her wall and her makeup whenever she wasn't home. She always brought cool friends like Kendra over who wore a cool neck band and feathered hair. They hung out in her room a lot and listened to Andy Gibb.

Tina is always inviting people to do things with her and she always insists on treating for everything. She is very generous in that she enjoys doing this so that a person like me can experience some of the greater things in life. Tina took my daughter and I to see Disney's Princesses on Ice earlier this year and we had so much fun thanks to her. Savannah will never forget going either. She still talks about it. I always have fun with Tina, no matter where we are.

Tina has inspired me to be better; to exercise and take care of my body before I get too old, to be financially stable, and to always go after my own dreams.

Monica - Monica is sweet, gentle, kind, and nurturing. Monica is always positive about life and loved ones and is very faithful to her spirituality. Monica loves homemaking and has always been a stable influence in my life. When I visit her today it feels like home. Home meaning the security and warmness that I felt as a child growing up; the smell of something baking, the kids doing chores, brothers and sisters in each room of the house, and family game playing.

When I was growing up, Monica was always quiet. I didn't know her much as she and I are also some 7 or 8 years apart. I did hang around her from time to time, usually when she was watching "Eight is Enough" and she would paint my nails during commercials. She had a cute stuffed kitty that wound up and had music play on it. After she left for school I would sneak in there and play with it. I remember her bed was always made too. She had posters of Shaun Cassidy and KC & the Sunshine Band.

To this day Monica has always spent a lot of time baking in the kitchen. I was little enough that I would climb up to sit on the bar and watch everything she did. She always gave me the egg beaters every time! I remember one summer day she took me for a ride on her metallic magenta bike with the white banana seat. I think I was sitting on the funny handlebars while we rode through the trailer court down the street from us. It was funny that the only part of our conversation I remember was when she asked me what I smelled as we rode by someone with a cigarette. All I remember was saying that it smelled like Lagoon - an amusement park in Salt Lake City that Dad would take us to each year. I guess I didn't know what a cigarette was. I just knew where I had smelled the smell for the first time.

Monica inspires me to be positive, to believe in others, and to have a full heart for everything I do in life. She encourages me to run my house as a "home" and to be faithful to my spiritual beliefs to remain calm in spirit to be content like she is.

Jennifer - Jennifer is smart, independent, and naturally healthy. In addition, she is well organized, proactive, and very assertive. Jennifer and I are closest in age, about 3 1/2 years difference. She and I have a friend relationship and are close in that we shared bedrooms growing up. Jennifer has always been a good example to me for as long as I can remember. She has always had high standards of herself and excels to be different from everyone which makes her so unique. I have always admired that about her and have been influenced to really let others know of my opinion and not be persuaded by the majority.

My fondest memories of Jennifer are when we would play Wonder Woman together. I remember watching Sunday television with her as we both loved Shirley Temple and Little House on the Prarie. I loved playing "girations" with her in the front room and being hyper with her. Jennifer used to climb up the hallway with her monkey hands and clammy feet. Sometimes we would dress up in frilly slips and pretend we were ballet dancers.

In my eyes, Jennifer was the most popular one in her school. She was in the drill team, the marching band, and all the while working and hanging out with friends. I thought I was so cool to have her for my sister and would show off to my friends all the pictures she had in the yearbook. She also had the cutest clothes and still does.

Jennifer has taught me to strive to be better, she has been a good listener whenever I've needed an ear. She has created a desire in me to learn how to become a diverse and unique indiviual so that I may stand out among the rest.

I am so appreciative that I have such wonderful sisters to share my life with.