Rosalee

Today is May 23rd, and it seemed a good day to talk about my sister, Rosalee. Today is her birthday - 39, I think. Rosey was always my oldest sister, although there were two girls older, I never knew them, so Rosey seemed like the oldest. I remember she always liked to have nice clothes and liked boys. She babysat a lot. One time she was babysitting next door for the Marshalls and tried to light the gas oven and it blew up. She came running home with singed eye brows and wasn't very happy. To be exact, I think it scared the devil out of her. In high school she took a live-in babysitting job in Flackville. I missed her being around. She was a senior while I was in sixth grade, and didn't let me borrow her clothes very much, although I had grown big enough to fit into some of them. But one day she let me borrow this outfit that I just loved and thought it made me so much more grown up. It was a black and gray plaid slim skirt with a matching vest. I was thrilled. After she graduated, she moved to Syracuse and I still missed her. That first summer I went to Syracuse to visit for two weeks and she bought me a short set - it had orange shorts and an orange and white plaid crop top. I loved it, as I didn't get very many new things - not with two older sisters. I wore it over to the park nearby, caught the seat on a slide and tore a 3-corner tear in the shorts. I was heartbroken, but not much could be done except stitch it up. I know she didn't make a lot of money and it was probably a sacrifice for her to buy it for me. After she was married, I started visiting with her every summer at her new home. She always tried to show me a good time. After I graduated, she helped me get a job at the same company she was working at, and we had many good times driving back and forth to work. One guy had this little GM convertible car and we thought we would look really good if we had one - bopping around in it with the top down and our hair blowing in the wind. Never happened though.... She was my matron of honor when I was married (Joanna was the bulge in her tummy). And quite a few years later, I stood up for her when she married Chuck. When she lived on the farm and I lived on our farm, we had a standard phone call. I would call her and say "It's my turn" - and proceed to tell her which kid did what to end up at the emergency room. Then she would call and say "it's my turn" and tell me what happened to one of her kids that ended up at the emergency room. It really did seem like they took turns.

Living 45 minutes to an hour away we don't see a lot of each other, but when we do we always have a good time. She has always been there for me - loaning me money on occasion, using her van to transport kids to college, giving me mental and emotional support when I needed it. She thinks she's a Rosalee now, but she will always be Rosey to me. Sisters are one of the best things in the world!