Hopscotch

Have you ever had that aunt who is always having fun and actually plays with the kids? This is my sister Rachel. I called her Hopscotch because I could totally see her out enjoying a game with a bunch of kids. I also named her that because in order to play the game you must first get out there and draw the board. My sister is an artist and she enjoys drawing and using chalk and anything like that. She even does wood burning. So I liked the artist part of hopscotch as well. My sister used to live near me and we talked like everyday. We either chatted over the phone or went somewhere together or I'd be over at her house hanging out. It was nice to have family so close. She moved away though, and left me out here without a sister. So sad.
I think my favorite memories of my sister will be those years when we lived close to each other. We were always there for each other. We had a lot of things come up where we needed to depend on each other. We both had to make trips to the hospital and the other would stay with all the children. She also watched my kids so I could go to girls camp and youth conference and things like that. I probably depended on her way too much, and perhaps that is one reason she moved. I guess I'll never know the truth because she's too nice to tell me that, but I do have my suspicions.
I even had to call her and her husband sometimes to come over late at night because I thought I heard a noise. They came and checked things out for me. She also was there for me to talk to. I think it's good to have somebody who knows just about everything that's going on in your life so they know how you're doing.
Another great thing about her is she is multi-talented. She can do the arts and the crafts but she can also sing, dance, act, play instruments, write stories and poems, take photos, and make up stories right from the top of her head to tell to crying children to help them calm down. She also likes parties as much as I do and it seems like we were planning events a lot. Sometimes they were for birthdays, sometimes reunions, sometimes just for fun, sometimes for a fireside at church, and sometimes for our kids. It was fun planning parties even if sometimes we never even ended up having a party. It was fun to plan anyway. See one of us would come up with an idea and mention it to the other. Then our imaginations would start driving us and we'd feed off of each other with all these great ideas until we had a fantastic thing planned. Maybe the world just wasn't ready for our dynamic duo.
Another thing I love about her is that she genuinely loved my kids. They loved her too. She always had a fun activity for them to do at her house. She would be the perfect preschool teacher because she has all these creative ideas. I would sometimes mention them to someone else and they would say that they once had a teacher like that or an aunt or leader or something. I was lucky to have a sister like that who lived so close. I know that now she's probably doing the same thing with my other sister and my mom. They are soooo lucky.
Also if you know Rachel you know that she doesn't seem to get embarrassed very easily. She has no qualms about dressing up like a clown and going out in public. She would happily make a fool out of herself if it meant others could have a great time. This is an admiral quality to have. I think it stems from her ability to act. She knows that she's just playing a goofy character and therefore she needn't be embarrassed. None the less she's a blast to have around. Kids enjoy her as well as adults. She is just funny.
I miss singing with her. We used to sing together, her soprano and me alto. Our voices blended well together. She is a great soloist as well and I enjoyed hearing her sing by herself too. She also has a great imagination and encourages it in her children. She lets them believe in fairies and leprechauns and the like. It's fun for her kids and even for her. She basically just enjoys life and making life fun. I bet you could go up to her right now and ask her if she'd be interested in a game of hopscotch and she'd say sure. She's a great sister to have. I miss seeing her everyday but maybe someday we'll live close again. I hope so.