I am getting old(er)!!!

It hit me hard this past Saturday that I am getting older and older. I watched my sister Rachel get married, and I realized that she is all grown up. I always viewed her as my little sister until last Saturday. It wasn't until she was walking down the isle that I realized that she is a full grown women, and a beautiful one at that. I was flooded with memories the whole night of all the things that her and I went through together. I think the fondest memory was when I went away to college. My family had taken me there to move into the dorms and Rachel came with us. We spent the whole day together as a family, and when it came time to say goodbye to her we both began to cry. I wasn't sure at the time why, but now I know what it was. We really depended on each other at the time and we had a genuine love for one another, one that a brother and sister are not normally blessed with. I have had the pleasure of watching her develop into a great spiritual women, again realized when she walked down the isle. She was so calm and collected, or at least she put on a good show, during the ceremony. It was just fun to watch.

It was also a bitter sweet week with her, and I wish I would have talked to her about it, but she was so busy with finishing up the final details. I wanted to tell her how proud I am of her and what she means to me and my family. Until last week I had not seen her in about 1 1/2 years. I really missed her during that time. She had always brought me so much comfort when we were together. But now she is all grown up and married. Her husband Matt, who I met for the first time last week, is a great guy. I can tell by the way that he looks at her that he is in awe of her, and as a big brother, that is what you hope for. The two of them will be such an encouragement to each other both spiritually and physically, and that is encouraging to me. I know that Matt will take care of her now, especially since they will be living in Charlotte, NC.

I was fortunate enough to be able to take Rachel and Matt to the airport on Sunday morning so that they could go on their honeymoon. I was the first to see them on their first full day of being married. I was able to share in some of Rachel's other "firsts" as we grew up, and the one on Sunday will be put up as one of the most special to me.

One last memory for the road. I used to have to get Rachel ready for school when she was in elementary grades. She couldn't have been more that 6 or 7 years old which would have made me around 13 or 14 years old. I used to do her hair and get her dressed in the mornings, because my mom had to be to work at like 4 or 5 in the morning. As I look back on that experience I can't help but think about that movie "When a man loves a woman" with Meg Ryan and Andy Garcia. There was a scene in the movie when the little daughter got her hair done by her older sister. When she was done the little girl came around a corner crying that her hair hurt because of what they had done to it. I can imagine Rachel going to school with her hair hurting, because I am sure that I did not know what I was doing while "doing" her hair. Rachel if your hair hurt I am sorry, but it was all worth it, at least for me. I love you. BTT

Matt, take care of our little Rachel for us, we know you will.