Fifty is the New Thirty
I have six siblings. Three sisters and three brothers. (I’m a Libra, so things balance out.) I adore them all. But, there is only one who has been with me my whole, entire life. My older sister, Heidi. I may have been a bit of a disappointment to Heidi. She had an African-American doll and thought that for sure I should be born looking like it. Also, she wanted to name me Donna. Heidi and me with our Grandpa. Heidi is two and a half years older than me. She has gone before me always. Paving the way. I watched her with her friends, in school and at church. I watched how she dressed, how she talked and how she acted. All the while, I tried to fit my steps to hers and follow along. And, then, I didn’t. In high school, our interests and aims diverged into different paths. She tried things I never dared. She had a confidence that terrified me. She dated boys I disliked, and then she married one. But, it never changed how I felt about ...