sibling sodality

i am the oldest of three kids: my brother is two years younger than me, and my sister is two years younger than him.  we have always been close, but as we have become adults the friendship has intensified and taken on a new dimension.  not only are they my best friends who understand all my movie quotes and enjoy the same music, activities, and snacks as i do — but now they are my confidantes and sources of advice on everything from faith & relationships to careers & clothes. lately it has been more difficult to find time to hang out, with bryan living in colorado and kelleigh and i newly wed.

so it was a perfectly serendipitous force that caused our paths to cross in an impossible triple-juncture this summer.  my sister and her husband have settled into life in the town where we all went to college.  my brother, recovering from a massive shoulder surgery, decided to move back to this community for the summer to find a less physical job. and i, with my shiny new vocation, have been assigned for the past eight weeks to this city where i spent 5 years of my life.  how the stars aligned to allow us to all be in the same place at the same time again is a wonder – but one i’ll gladly take.

this summer has been fun and memorable, with everyone convening on kel’s house for lunches, running errands together, and getting caught up on the intimate details of each other’s lives and how we’ve developed as “grown-ups.”  i’ll always be grateful for this time, because i doubt we’ll ever be together quite like this again.

we actually got to celebrate bry and kel’s birthdays this week, just like we used to: one party in between the dates. if you click here you can see photos of our joint-birthday celebration for kelleigh’s 25th on sept 6 and bryan’s 27th on sept 11…i guess now you can calculate how old i will be this year.