My biggest sister’s big birthday - Thursday Thirteen

November 15, 2007 by Barbara.

I really can’t believe that I’m old enough to have a sister who is 50. Somehow it’s more shocking than when Chris turned 50 last year. Mom is good at remembering such things, though, and she says that Pam did, in fact, turn 50 yesterday and so it must be so. If I were a more organized person, I would have collected favourite memories from my sisters and brothers for a total of 50, that would have been a good idea. Being a more organized person would generally be good. Alas, I am not and so you’ll have to rely on my thoughts to celebrate  Pam.

Here are some reasons, in no particular order, I’m grateful that Pam is my sister:
1. Pam trusted me to babysit Brianna when she was just a baby and I was just a kid.
2. When I babysat Brianna, with Grandma Joyce always nearby, Pam never let on that I wasn’t trusted fully.
3. Pam never sought vengeance for that time when I used her chin for teething and she ended up with a rather unusual bruise. Okay, it was a hickey.
4. Pam let me into her bed when I was young and she was big and safe. Surprisingly, she has gotten smaller as I’ve grown up and now I would say she is small and safe.
5. Pam shared with me her love of reading when I was young and, more recently, her love of listening to books on tape/compact disk. I can’t say enough about the latter.
6. At some point, Pam told me about the Sidetracked Home Executive’s approach to keeping a house. I have tried at various points over the years to adopt this approach. It hasn’t stuck yet but it certainly seems to be the one mostly to work for me if I ever worked at it.
7. Pam provided me with my first-ever nephew. I wouldn’t want to take away from my fabulous nieces but Donald was certainly novel.
8. Pam made Hello Dollies fairly often when I was young and I *love* Hello Dollies. What can be better than chocolate, coconut, graham cracker crumbs and sweetened condensed milk?
9. Pam let me call her “Mama” when I was wee little, though I don’t expect that she had much of a choice, kids being kids. Still, I’m sure it took some patience and poise for my then-teenage sister.
10. Pam is the first person I remember nursing a baby. I love nursing Reid and can’t say thanks enough to people who provided role models.
11. Pam instilled in me the rhyming names that I hear myself using with Reid. Somehow Chanty-Bonty has led to Reidle-Beedle over 20 years.
12. Pam had me as her flower girl and I was so proud of it.
13. Pam gave me my first taste of Sarah Lee banana spice cake. Yummy! I remember admiring the even layers that were revealed as you cut the cake. They’re not made anymore, I don’t know why but some have attempted to replicate the taste. Just thinking of the spicy-bananaee goodness makes me wish I lived close enough to stop by with a cake and a candle.

Happy birthday from Ottawa, big sister!

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