The Middle Sister…

See? I look like a girl now...

Wedged in between the “elder sister” and me, is my sister, Kris. I’ll start by saying that Kris and I couldn’t be any more opposite, both in looks and personality. Interesting thing is, we get along famously. I’m not sure if it’s because we’re so opposite or because we both share the position of being in the middle (since there’s four of us) or because we hung out together a lot as teenagers, but for whatever reason, we really have a good friendship on top of our sibling-ship.

As a kid, she was a total tomboy. She hated dolls and all things girly. She played with boys, climbed trees and never had any interest in the stuff that most little girls like. The elder sister, on the other hand, who I’ll get to later, is totally girly. So my two influential, older siblings were opposite in their interests, and interestingly enough, I came out with a mix of both. I’m a girly tomboy; I love makeup and hair products as much as I love drinking beer from a keg… and I think it’s because of both of them.

Nice hair Kris!

Kris is hands down the family peacemaker. She hates confrontation or tension, and if there is any, she’ll try to make everyone get along or just leave the situation. She’s really easy-going and it takes a lot to get her mad. Do I need to mention that she has a great sense of humor? We make each other laugh every time we talk on the phone, which is usually a few times a week. She also lives in Maine, by the way, about 3 hours south of my mom…in a more “civilized” area.  And by “civilized” I mean the people in her area have a few extra teeth.

She notices the tiniest little quirks about people and loves to share them. For example, she’ll tell me about some of the clients she works with and she’ll say something like, “He has really long hair in his ears and blinks a lot when he talks.” How she notices the long hair in his ears while she’s “listening” to him is what’s funny. Because while she’s “listening,” she’s actually taking a full inventory of anything odd about the person so that she can report back to someone who will think it’s funny…like me.

This is the thing I find most interesting about her; I’ve never met a person who doesn’t like Kris…ever!  It’s bizarre because most people have at least one person that doesn’t like them or never wants to talk to them again, but I can honestly say that I can’t think of one person who doesn’t like her.

That is a quality she gets from my dad. She is so likeable and genuinely nice that you can’t not like her. Everywhere she has lived, she gets to know everyone and stops on the street to talk to them and is just an overall friendly person to anyone and everyone she meets. We’re definitely opposites on that one. I hate the “stop and chat.” I like to talk to people when I’m ready, not when I run into them somewhere because then I have to pretend that I’m interested in them .

Kris and I had a lot of the same friends, especially in our teenage years, so we hung out together a lot. She was always the responsible one and I was the partier. It was a good balance as far as I was concerned because I knew she always looked out for me…plus, I make her laugh when I’m drunk.

Kris has also been my biggest fan from day one. She has always been the most supportive and encouraging of all my family members no matter what I was doing. She always made me feel like I was the best singer, the best dancer, the funniest comic or the best writer. Someone like that is invaluable in Hollywood; they are often referred to as “yes” people. They are people who tell the stars that they are the most talented person on Earth, and we need those people to counterbalance all the rejection and self-doubt that Hollywood plants our sick little heads. But Kris is genuine, and that’s what makes her the best “yes” girl in my life . She has posted the most comments of anyone on this blog.

We have lived together numerous times over the years. We drove to LA together and lived in Hollywood for six months. I also spent two summers working in Maine and lived in her apartment with her.  We had fun living together, especially because it wasn’t for a too long (family should only be taken in doses.) This one time we had gone sailing and there were a couple of cute pictures of us from the boat ride. I looked better in one picture and she looked better in another. Naturally, she put the picture in the frame where she looked better and put it on display. But while she was at work, I changed the picture to the one where I looked better. She eventually noticed it and changed it back without saying anything. Then I noticed it and changed it back again. This went on all summer. She eventually won since I went back to LA, and she still has the picture on display to this day. Well, guess what Kris? All the pictures of us in my apartment are the ones where I look better.

She is a sales rep for a big food company and does extremely well because all of that stinkin’ sunshine she exudes. So, I probably don’t have to tell you that if you met her, you’d love her. I wish there were more people like her in the world because she really does make it a better place….and she loves food and booze almost as much as I do. What more could you want in a sister?

Can you believe we have the same parents? ....or do we?

I’m so excited for the short week. Although, I don’t like to celebrate how the white man killed off all the Indians, I do feel thankful for a lot of things….like my siblings. Have a tipsy Tuesday