It's Official: We're Getting Old
March 07, 2007
Tuesday was a landmark day in the "That 30's Guy" Family. Little Sis is now 21. I guess she's not so little anymore. More like legal.
There is about a 10-year gap between my sister and I (our brother is 3 years my junior), so it's always been hard to really be close. When I see her boozing it up, I still see that little girl with the curls who used to run around the house. I've gotten better in recent years, but it's still an adjustment. I mean, I can still see the photo of me standing behind her, towering over her, in my senior prom tux back in the Spring of 1994. She's probably about 4 feet tall at most then, and not even at double-digits for her age.
Now, she is 21. Sis is a college junior, working towards becoming a teacher. She's just over 5 feet tall, and has turned into an attractive young woman. From the looks of her longtime friends who joined us for a surprise birthday dinner celebration at a top Italian restaurant, they have too. Not to be overlooked, it's my sister's boyfriend of over a year who organized the event. It's taken some getting used to, especially because he is a couple of years older than her, but he's a good guy who still needs to a way to start a career (he's quit two jobs in several months, one of which my brother had landed him).
Possibly feeling older than I was Batgirl. To demonstrate how small of a world this is, my sister and her friends were the first ever class Batgirl taught in my hometown's school system. When she and I first got together, my sister wasn't sure how to handle "Ms." Batgirl in a capacity as her brother's girlfriend. Now, they get along well. I can remember the Sunday night when Batgirl took the time to sit down and critique a paper my sister had to write on her observations of actual classrooms. More recently, Batgirl expressed real concern about my sister's mental state after hosting my mom and others last Friday night. She learned that my sister's been having a tough time over the last month, crying and feeling depressed, calling in sick at work and being late to class because of it. We were both surprised by this news as my sister comes off as someone very independent.
I also felt really bad when I heard this. It was a real eye-opener that I need to make more of an effort to get closer to her. The good thing is, she now can go anywhere without fear her Florida fake ID will be taken away. She can just pull out her real one. Batgirl suggested we both try to reach out to her, maybe give her a younger, fresher ear instead of leaving the burden on my parents. Invite her and/or her boyfriend to join us for different activities. This has always been in the back of my mind as something that needs to be done, but now it's got to be at the forefront.
As a gift, Batgirl and I gave her a $75 gift certificate to a spa. She loved it. In the card, I made sure I wrote that we loved her and are proud of her. I made sure I told her that again when we were going our separate ways after dinner last night (a HUUUGE bill I may add). I guess it's a start.
posted by That 30's Guy @ 7:57 PM,
