Godless Mom in the Bible Belt

My sister died last night.

She was 21 years my senior yet somehow I was always the adult in our relationship.

She had a cornball sense of humor, a deep love for classic sci-fi and an even deeper love of nature. She was much happier sitting on the floor with a dog than sitting at the table with the adults.

She had a somewhat tragic life. For whatever reason she made poor choices in her personal life. Her existence was a constant struggle to deal with the consequences of her decisions, some days were worse than others and as a result her naturally sunny disposition was always shadowed by a subtle sadness.

She was diagnosed with leukemia three years ago and between the disease and the damned cure her bone marrow shut down and quit producing healthy blood. He heart and lungs followed and she died in her sleep after two months in the hospital.

I loved her deeply, I always felt loved and whole when she was around and I can only hope I had the same effect on her. So, I raise my glass to my sister, I will miss her very, very much.