I started this the week Lucy didn't write, and finally finished it tonight...
Basically, this is the first time Lucy hasn't written in her whole mission. I've never checked my email more times in my entire life! I have missed her this week, and since it seems wrong to not have a post, I'm going to tell you a little about my sister.
Lucy is
an angel sent from heaven. When she was born I immediately adopted her
as my own little baby to take care of and spoil, which I did mainly by always spending
my time with her. I didn't want to hang out with friends or do other activities, I
just wanted to hold her and sing to her and do her hair. As the years
went by she became my best friend and "mini me" as she tried to copy
everything I did from the position of my pony tail to what I was wearing
that day and to sleep. She would bring me glasses of ice water then she and I would sing together every night and I
would force her to memorize tons of songs, many of which were quite
difficult. Now that I have a 6 year old, I realize how amazing it was
that at age 5 -8 she could hold the melody and even the harmony sometimes as I would
sing the other part. Our signature song was the National Anthem which
we sung many times in front of my high schoolmates. All the popular
girls that never spoke to me would come up to me and say "your sister
was so good, it gave me chills!"She has talent, talent I say! Lucy was a
superstar soccer player, tennis player as well as a star musician at a
young age, gracing the stage as Belle in Beauty and the Beast and many
other musical performances over many years. She just had that star
quality that lights up the stage. I loved watching her run down the
soccer field with pigtail brades, the skinniest legs ever and her arms
flipping back to her side doing her signature run. It was so cute! One
of her most endearing qualities is that she is such a kind person to
everyone. She, unlike the rest of her awkward siblings, was always well
liked and popular, but she always used her popularity to stand up for
others who were left out and set a good example for others who looked up
to her. She would tell me how she stood up for some cast-out soul who
was being teased and she would rebuke the bullies and they would listen
because they all respected and liked her. One of my favorite past times
with Lucy is when I was at BYU in my first few years and I would
convince my mom to let me take her for the weekend and she and I would
ride my long board all over campus, meeting cute guys and cruising the
streets. She and I would both wear pigtail braids and she got even more
attention than me! I got such a great workout as well because she
stood in the front of the long board, steering, and I would hold her
little shoulders and just push and push and push through Provo. I would
even manage to keep her sometimes on Monday and even once until Tuesday
night saying that the ride that I had found to take her home fell
through. haha. That was actually a lie to keep her with me. I'm sorry
for all my sins. haha. She was so little when I got called on my
mission that I could still flip her little cannon ball body at the
swimming pool with my scrawny arms. When I got back, she was all grown
up! My only regret from my mission is that I missed watching her grow
up and when I got home she had moved to Japan and wasn't next door
anymore. I missed her so much. I thought about her so much on my
mission and whenever I saw something cute, my mind went straight to
her. When I got back she was a little teenager and was living a
wonderful life in Japan. During that time, she was challenged a lot
academically and we found out that along with all the other talents, she
was a genius, making A's in just about everything. Writing was
something that she was especially good at and she used her talent to
write many amazing papers in school as well as write many beautiful
songs. She had many friends and was playing tennis and being immersed
in the wonderful Japanese Culture. I stayed in Japan for a few months
after my mission and we played with our hairless rats together and
laughed just as much as always. As she skipped around the country for
the next several years and I got married and moved to the east coast we
didn't communicate as much as I would have liked, but whenever we got
together the kindred spirit we always had was quickly rekindled and it
was just so easy to be around her. I pushed her to learn to play the
mandolin and the guitar and she already learned how to sing from birth
so basically she ended up being better than me at everything at a
younger age, which couldn't make me more happy. She is so accomplished
and beautiful and I have such grateful feelings over her success in
life. The most significant thing she has done for me, other than
serving a mission, is that when my little baby, Georgie, died, she wrote
me a beautiful song that lifted my spirits and has ever since then been
such a sweet memory for me during that horrible time. Lucy and I spent
quite a long period of time together right before her mission and during
that time I taught her everything I knew about how to cook, craft, take
care of three little kids on airplanes, exercise, be an every day
missionary and live life to the fullest. We did a triathlon together,
went on numerous road trips and plane trips together, laughed and
elevated each other to a higher level. One last quality I admire about
Lucy is that you would never know any of this by talking to her. She
never brags about herself and would never tell you that she has songs
published on Itunes! She is humble and down to earth and I doubt her
husband will even know all the amazing things she has done in her life
until they've been married for quite a few years. That means I get to
brag about her:) My sister is my best friend and confidant. She is my
angel and I don't know how I would have survived my life without being
able to love her and serve her. I am who I am today because of her. If
I could sum up how I feel about Lucy it would be that she is my tender
mercy from the Lord. Everything from her birth to her service as a
missionary has been a tender mercy in my life that I needed so much to
keep me from being lonely and falling away from the Lord's plan for me.
You probably don't know this, Lucy, but sometimes I made the right
decision just because I didn't want to let you down. I thought of no
one else when times were rough. You literally kept me alive. I love
you Lucy. Work hard, have faith, gain a testimony and I can't wait to
embrace you upon your honorable return.
Love your big sister,
Annie
No comments:
Post a Comment