My Sister Is Good At Growing Things

Take for example, her family. She is the rock of ages over there across the street. She worries about her kids, that they have issues because she suffered from depression while they were teenagers – a very bad time for kids to have the rug pulled out from under them. But I feel like even thought they had some adversity, as they grew through those turbulent times, she was actually preparing them for real life. So maybe their childhood ended abruptly. They learned how to deal with personalities sooner than most kids… not that that there were multiple personalities involved. In any case, her kids are wonderful, mature, talented, bright individuals who are prepared to make choices in life and deal with the consequences.

 

Now, take her house. She has such impeccable taste. Items are placed lovingly so and it makes me cry to take in the beauty. Colors and shapes, patterns and layers – they are well thought out and make her house a warm inviting home. You can’t learn that from a book, but she studied books and magazines and drew her own conclusions and grew her own style. I love her house!

 

And her cooking, well that’s an entire post but suffice to say, when we lived at home, our grandparents lived with us so when Mom had to go back to work, our Nana cooked. We girls didn’t really learn how to cook until we were mistresses of our own kitchens. I do ok in that department, but my sister does it with ease and warmth and makes people feel welcome and at home while she does it.

 

And then, there’s her garden… gardens. She studied books, asked professionals, bought magazines and traded ideas on line. Her secret email address has the word “garden” in it. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that her daughter is marrying a man who is a project manager with a landscape firm. She knows the Latin names of plants. She knows what “Dusty Miller” is. She knows that cotoneaster is pronounced kuh-toh-nee-as-ter and not cotton Easter. And I reiterate, you can’t learn what she knows intuitively. Did I mention we live across the street from each other? Well that’s why I get to see the beauty everyday!

And she writes too. She has her blog and she writes for a local newspaper and has been published in an even bigger newspaper. Did I mention she’s good at growing things? Herself – she grew herself real good too. Because she’s organized. She probably never had to call her cell phone only to hear it ring from her linen closet.