Happy Birthday, Hannie!

Today is a special day for a very special person. My little sissy turns 22 today. It's strange watching your little sister grow up, because, that's exactly how you think about her: she's you're little sister and she's supposed to be, well, "little." But now she's growing up to be such a beautiful woman. She's in her final year of undergrad at UNCW, studying behavioral psychology (I think...? Well, it's some sort of psychology!) and pretty much ready to go conquer the world.

In all honesty, I envy her a little. She's fearless and carefree, never met a stranger, knows what she wants and goes after it. She takes advantage of every moment and doesn't let anything hold her back. Someday, she's going to have to best stories to tell her kids about when she was their age. (Or perhaps those are the sort of stories you DON'T tell your kids.)

I still remember the days of teasing her and sending her to do all of our "errands" that we didn't feel like doing or talking to people that we didn't want to approach. She and I were definitely not the best of friends growing up. In fact, we hated each other. She bugged me and I was mean to her. When Beka went off to college, she actually told my mom that she was scared of me because Beka had always protected her. That's pretty intense. But actually, after Beka went off to college, both of us grew up and we became really good friends.

My biggest disappointment now is that I don't get to see her more often. But she's in school taking like 18 hours of class on top of holding down 2 jobs and an internship (or something equally as crazy) and it's difficult for us to just pick up for the weekend and go to visit someone, especially with having a dog at home now. But I'm very excited that I get to see her this weekend! I'm taking a day trip with my parents out to Wilmington to hang out with her for a few hours to celebrate her birthday. I'm so excited! I don't know that I've actually hung out with her since Beka's wedding. That's way too long.

So, Hannah, here's to you. You are so beautiful and inspiring and I'm so proud to have you as a sister. I hope today and this year bring you that much closer to your goals and dreams. I know you'll accomplish whatever you set out to do. Happy Birthday, love!