My Sister, My Best Friend

Sisters. Confidantes. Best friends. Protectors.

This is what Audrey and I have been from day one.

People who meet us now, as adults, ask us if we have always been so close.

But people who have known us since we were little already know the answer!

Audrey has always been like a second mother to me.

For a long while (and to certain extent, even today!) I thought she and my Mom were on a two-person campaign to know exactly where I was, and who I was with, at all times.

In school, Audrey would meet me at my last class or at my locker so we could walk to the bus together.

When my class would take a field trip, she would make sure I understood that at no time, under any circumstances, should I ever break away from my group.

In college, I’d often come home to my dorm room to two messages on my answering machine – one from Mom and one from Audrey. Both directing me to call as soon as I returned so they’d know I got home safely (the dilemma being which “mom” to call first)!

If there was a “buzz phrase” that could encapsulate our childhood, it would be: “Where’s Jane?”

While there were times, certainly, that I felt a little overprotected, I have always been so grateful for my sister and the loving, caring, wonderful sister bond we share.

We both know that no matter what, we will always be there for each other. We will always be so proud of each other’s accomplishments, and be each other’s biggest cheerleaders.

We will always be there for a hug, a laugh, a cry, a venting session – anywhere, anytime one of us needs it. We will never turn our backs on each other.

Audrey is one of the funniest people I know. She can make me laugh like few people can.

I love how we can be in a crowded room, with many other people, and all it takes is a knowing look at one another to understand that both of us think something is funny. Or outrageous. Or ridiculous.

We understand each other like no one else.

It’s a sister thing.

But although we are so similar in so many ways – our senses of humor, our loyalty to family, our entrepreneurial spirits, our capacities to love, our penchants for celebrity gossip – we are very different in many ways, too.

But our differences only serve to complement us even more.

Audrey is an open book. If something is on her mind, she will not hesitate to let you know. Anyone, really, who wants to know. The whole story. From start to finish. And then some.

I am much more reflective. If something is on my mind, I prefer to take my time to think about it on my own. And share when I am ready to share. Only what I want to share. And only with whom I want to share.

This drives Audrey crazy and she will try every possible tactic to get information out of me. Bribery, trickery, leverage – all in her repertoire.

Audrey is much more of a city girl. She likes a lot of action, a lot of movement, a lot of activity. I could easily live in the mountains of Maine for stretches of time without a thought.

Audrey is a planner. I fly by the seat of my pants.

We just had a yard sale over the weekend, and Audrey had everything planned to a “T” for weeks. Signs printed up and mounted on cardboard, an ad in the newspaper, tables accounted for and set up, boxes labeled.

When I had my yard sale last year, I decided at 10 PM the night before to have one. Unplanned, last-minute, casual – that’s me.

But one thing is certain, we need to be close to each other. When Audrey lived in New York City for 6 years, at least we were only a car ride away.

And now that she has moved back to Rhode Island with her family, and we live only 15 minutes from each other, it is such a wonderful feeling to know that my very best friend is literally around the corner.

We are so grateful to be able to work together every day with our Mom. To be able to talk, laugh, and collaborate together. Mom never had a sister of her own, so she is like our sister too. We all just have fun together. We respect each other. We love each other.

I am going to call Audrey right now to talk about some work-related things. But I know as soon as she answers the phone, her first question will be, “How’s Bismarck?”

That’s Audrey. She knows how I love my dogs as thought they’re my children (and doesn’t discredit this with statements like, “You won’t know what it’s like to love a child until you have your own”). And she knows how devastated I am that Bismarck is battling cancer.

For Audrey, caring about me means caring about the ones I love. And vice versa.

We will always support one another.

We are Sisters. Confidantes. Best friends. Protectors.

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Congratulations to Lara from Gliding Through Motherhood – she is the winner of our Fabulous Summer Bag Giveaway!

You still have two chances to win a pure DKNY tote, though – go HERE for details.

And don’t forget to enter our contest for a Letters from Grandma set from Once Upon a Family! Simply email us at customerservice [at] pinksandblues [dot] com to enter (subject line: Letters from Grandma contest). We will draw a winner on Friday, July 27, 2007.