Denise: Maybe now as you’re getting older, you should start taking
after me. And cheers to that. (Wine glass toast)
��������������As much as we got along, we were still competitive with
each other. You were the one who was always dressed to kill, so
I had to get dressed to kill. If one of us had a boyfriend, the other
one had to go and get a better boyfriend.
����������������I think one big difference between you and I is that you
are a lot stronger than I am. I wear my heart on my shoulder all
the time, so I have gotten hurt a lot. But you taught me to be
stronger than that and I strive for that every day.
��������������That’s what sisters are for. Do you remember when we
were teenagers and you would talk about these guys and I
would say, “oh no Denise, you can’t be with him.”
You were such a little goody-goody two shoe. I was
a little more on the experimental side.
����������������Well, that just goes back to show you how
much of a leader you were to me growing up. You
were one person that I looked up to so much.
Your opinion mattered to me.
��������������Do you remember the time that Daddy got
so mad at us for having a party when they were on
vacation that he kicked us out of the house.
����������������Oh yes, he did.
��������������And then we found a place to move into, and then suddenly,
he didn’t want us to leave.
����������������Sometimes I think that he planned that whole thing. He
planned on coming home early enough to catch us in the act of
having this great party. I think Daddy always knew more than
we ever thought he knew.
��������������That’s true. I can believe that too. I remember all the times
that we would be at ball games and I was always looking out for
you and making sure you were okay. I think I still do in a lot of
ways, but you take care of me a lot these days too.
����������������I remember playing ponytail softball. Everyone called you
Tiger because you hit all the home runs and they called be Windy
because all I did was talk too much. If the wind was blowing,
my lips were flapping.
��������������We had so much fun. It was so great.
����������������It was awful! I was so awful! (laughing hysterically)
��������������Yeah, well maybe you shouldn’t have played softball. But you
made it... interesting.
����������������And then we both decided to go to beauty school together.
Do you remember what Daddy said when we told him we wanted
to go to beauty school together?
������������I sure do. He told us that we would never make it.
��������������Yep, he said you girls won’t last more than a
month before you quit.
������������And then after we graduated, Daddy had to
call and make an appoin tment to get in to see us
because we were so busy.
����������������He sure did. I mean, all our life has been
walked together. I’ve always looked up to you as my
leader. You took care of me, and worried about me.
But today, I want you to know that there’s been times
where I wanted to take care of you and wanted to be your protector.
But now that I look at you and see everything that’s going on in
your life, and I’m so proud of everything that you’ve done. The way
you’ve protected and stood up for yourself. I’m so proud to be your
sister. Thank you so much for helping me to grow to be this woman
that I am today. Thank you.
��������������Well growing up, you’ve always been an amazing sister. I am
so very proud of you and the wonderful person you are. I don’t have
to worry about you anymore like I did growing up. Is seems like we
are on the same page, we share the same goals and you are really
excelling in your life right now. It’s so wonderful to see and watch.
And if you can’t be proud of your sister, who can I be proud of?
������������Here’s to being sisters, business partners and best friends!
������������
37
from pg 33
/waynesvilleartschool.com
