She was born Dec. 26th and was my Mothers Christmas baby... Born with a full head of jet black hair amongst two other blonde females, (my mother and my oldest sister)... Michelle was the spitting image of our dad... Tall, thin, and dark dark hair and it was only fitting she's be named "Michelle" named after my father "Michael".. When she was born, they noticed she didn't develop properly, and was born without hips.... She was put in a full body cast which she had to wear till she was 5... I've heard the countless stories of how my mother made her specialized clothing to go over this big bulky cast... She would not learn to walk until it was removed at the age of 5.. Because of her condition, she had to get a lot of attention, so, when I came a long a few years later, I'm not so sure she was open to sharing the spotlight, with me... When I was 5 my parents divorced, and my mom packed Michelle and I up and we moved to New York State... It seemed when we got there, she instantly had a new group of friends to occupy her time... But I do have many fond memories of our growing up together.... One of which was when she taught me how to ride a bike... I had training wheels for a while, and I remember a older neighborhood boy taking my bike from me, and breaking my training wheels off of them... I ran into the house crying, and thats when she decided, we didn't need them anymore... She took them off, brought me out to the road, and ran behind me with her hand holding my seat so I wouldn't fall over.. It took a few tries, and bumps and bruises, finally after a few times I was off on my own... All thanks to my sister that I adored, but seemed untouchable to me...
Michelle was rough growing up with at times... We joke at how she had a "Jan Brady" syndrome being the middle child... And literally the "black sheep" with that jet black hair... But she had something different about her... We knew she was off to great places, and I feared she would leave and forget me... Right after graduating highschool she moved to California with her boyfriend... My time living with her seemed shortlived, and I never had the chance to grow with her like I wanted to..
She came to visit sometimes, but always sent pictures of her lifestyle in Southern California... Going out with girlfriends that looked like super models, out to clubs, and really cool coffee houses, driving convertibles, and spending days at the beach... Again, to a young kid like myself, I looked up to her like she was a celebrity living it up in California.. My family and I went to visit when I was 15... She brought us to LA, and to the Beaches of SanDiego... giving the Northeastern family a taste of the good life...
She moved around a few times... Always from one touristy beach area to the next, and finally ending up in Tampa Florida... Thats where she met her husband Steve... We never met this guy, and suddenly we get a call one day... "Come to Florida, We're getting Married, Oh... And by the way, I'm pregnant"... Whoa!!!! We all packed in the car, and made the drive from Connecticut to Florida to be at the wedding...
My sisters wedding was insanely beautiful... Set in a oceanfront mansion that was owned by a friend of hers... Catered by a friend, with food I've never heard of... We stayed at her friends house in a gated community, with beautiful views, and everything we could ever want to be comfortable.. Michelle has always been a great hostess...
6 months later, she had my Niece, Bayli... Named after Tampa Bay... and spelled with an i specifically so she could dot it with a heart growing up... Bayli was given the middle name "walter" in memory of her grandfather on her dad's side... Michelle told me that because my middle name is "Michael" (named after my dad) that having a "boys" middle name was an honor, and since I grew up with it, and ended up fine, they wanted to pass that along.... Of course Bayli was born with a full head of Dark Brown hair... lol..
Up until a few years ago, my sister and I never really spoke much... I didn't really get to know her... The day that changed all that, was a few days following the death of our father.... Because I was the baby, BOTH my sisters felt the need to protect me... And after an incident involving one of my fathers neighbors not showing the most sensitivity to us about our fathers death... I was visibly affected by it... It was my sister Michelle that approached this woman, and let her have it... She stood up for me, and protected me against this woman's comments.... From that day, I knew both my sisters loved me, and will always protect me...
After all of that, Michelle and I suddenly developed a bond... I actually missed her, and flew down to Florida almost once a year to spend a few days to be with her.... In those times, where I've traveled, we became friends... We laughed a lot, we cried a lot, we shared a lot, and we both grew a lot. We hung out like friends, having lunch on the beach, and meeting with her friends at a few local hotspots... Most importantly we grew to realize, how much alike we were in so many ways... She shared to me that she misses our family, and we both missed the times we were not around...
We speak almost once a week, and whenever she is out on the town, she will frequent a few of our favorite spots we go to when we visit.. She always makes sure to request the band to play a few Dave Matthews songs for me... So on some random Friday nights, I'll have an voicemail on my phone with the familiar voice saying "Kym, I'm having them play your song... I miss you... I love you... Michelle... "
This is really sweet Kym. You have a way with words. Thanks for sharing with all of us.
ReplyDeletelol.. Sandy... I like to talk a lot... :)
ReplyDeleteI do too. Its ridiculous sometimes and I know it can be annoying. Lol. I have been tried to learn not to jabber away. Ha.
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