18 and Life.

Today I am grateful for my baby sister, Jasmine.

although she isn't quite so much of a baby anymore.

Today is her 18th birthday.

I just keep looking at her and thinking "How in the fuck did that happen?" 18?! really?! even The Marsh was having a hard time handling it. I think she had just finished the 6th grade when we met, so he's pretty much watched her grow up these last 6 and half years too. we're both having a hard time understanding where the time went. it went by just too fast, man.

this road for Jasmine, however, has been a very long one.

you see, my little sis has Aspergers Syndrome. if you don't know what that is, it's a form of autism. Luckily Miss Jazzy is on the low end of the spectrum. meaning that while she may be slightly awkward, she is still freaking smarter than all the rest of us. she likes algebra. if that's not weird than i don't know what is. but in all seriousness, it isn't easy having any type of autism. and kids are cruel. the kids Jasmine grew up with and went to school with were cruel. at one point the bullying got so bad when she was in middle school that my parents started looking into private schools just to get her away from them.

as a sister, and i'm sure as a parent, it was tough to see happening. i can't even begin to imagine how she managed to be the one living through it.

but somehow she did. they decided to give our high school a try for a year to see what happened and things turned out pretty well. she joined the Anime Club (of which she is now President as a senior) and found her own little niche of friends who enjoy doing the same things she does.

it was empowering to see her prove everyone wrong. not only did she go to public school all four years, she owned it in her own special way. she has amazing grades and has already received a few college acceptance letters. one school is offering her a scholarship of $20,000. per year.

I'm so grateful that she's grown up into this amazing young woman, despite being somewhat unique. sure she can be maddening and frustrating. but what little sister isn't? or older sister for that matter..or older brother....moving along.

I've hinted here on this blog that i've got a vacation lined up in a few months to leave the country. Well the plan is that my sisters (all of them) and I will be headed to Aruba for a week in May. We're going to celebrate jasmine graduating from high school.

I do have some reservations about going on this trip, solely because i know that i'll miss my kids and The Marsh like crazy, but i'm so grateful for this opportunity to travel with my baby sis and share in this special moment with her. Life is about to get crazy. she's going to graduate and go to college (or maybe the airforce). she's not going to just always be there at my mom's house anymore. she's going to be an adult, out there in the world living her life. She's seven years younger than me, my brain has trouble even beginning to process this kind of thing, but it's true. so i'm grateful for the fun and the memories that will be made.

and i'm grateful everyday to have such a funny, sweet, and amazing little sister.

Thanks for reading!
Lana