With Love, Thelms

Have you ever just met someone and y’all just clicked? I’m talking, talk for minutes to hours about any and everything. They get you in a way most people don’t. There’s just an instant connection, you know? You can be raw and unfiltered with the understanding that doing so with them is safe. In my case, I met that person so many years ago, I honestly don’t remember exactly when it happened. When our connection came to be that is. Nevertheless, her name is Caresse and I specifically realized five years ago that she was the older sister I never knew I needed.

Here’s our story.

SO. I come from a family of three other siblings, two younger and one older brother. I’ve always known what it was like to have an older brother. Someone who has your back when you need it in every sense of the phrase.

But an older sister? I’d of course never experienced that. & to be honest for the life of me didn’t think I was missing a thing by not having one. I certainly didn’t think that the girl I met so many years ago would be the one to not only make me realize I did in fact need one. But also, that she’d be the one to be that for me.

Though I don’t remember exactly when we met, I do know that we were both young and dumb. LOL. We were just kids who usually only had two things on the brain: boys & playing with our electronics. Oh and candy. Trying to be older obviously. TV too! So I guess more than two things were on our brain back then.

Our parents are and have always been pretty great friends, so naturally that made spending time together so much easier.
We met at church, I think? Or somewhere that was partially or directly related to church. So for the most part I only ever saw her on Sundays. Which was why having sleepovers when we could was a pretty big deal.

When I would have sleepovers at her house (we would both beg my parents to let me stay over), we would have THE BEST time. We’d stay up late watching movies, eating horribly, and talking about things we had no business talking about. As years went on most things stayed the same, but some things changed. We were older and had our own set of friends, hell our own lives. Ya know? Needless to say, we hit a rough patch that to this day we have never really discussed.

Listen. We were a little older by then sure, but still pretty dumb clearly. However, it’s just one of those things that with time we got over though.
P.S. She’s probably reading this and laughing, recognizing that we never did discuss it LOL. To be frank, I see no reason we ever should.

Anyway.

Remember when I said I didn’t realize she was the older sister I never knew I needed till 5 years ago?

Well I started college five years ago and boy did I need her.

I was hit with so many life changes during that time and struggled to cope. I’m talking boys, developing anxiety (as it related to school), the workload of school, balancing new friends… You guys I could go on and on. It was an exciting, but difficult time and besides my mom the person I leaned on THE most?

Caresse.

She is two years older than me, so naturally she had all the knowledge I needed back then.

I remember either being so upset about something one minute or so excited in the next breath. Either emotion, she was one of the first people I’d call to tell about it. Being honest with me when the situation warranted it or celebrating with me unabashedly when I was victorious. Her squeal y’all? UNMATCHED. When my anxiety would get the best of me? She’d talk me off the ledge and remind me that everything was sure to be okay.

She was just there for me you guys and still is. Encompassing every quality an older sister has:

Care.
Understanding.
Love (both pure and yet, necessarily tough).
Honesty.
Humorous (she is funny as hell you guys).
Mean (she has her mean moments like picking on me, but always in good fun LOL)

Basically she has a heart of gold and I love her entirely too much.

So today on her 26th birthday I want to dedicate this post to her.

Although I never realized that she’d become the older sister I never knew I needed — I’m thankful that God knew and blessed this world with her grace, kindness, beauty, and humility the day she was born, so many years ago.

Thank you for all that you are to me Caresse. To know you, is to love you. I hope this new circle around the sun is everything you want it to be and more.

Happy Birthday poopie.

Thelms