First Day

My sister has moved in with us.  Her first day living with us was this week.

Granted, this is only temporary, most like a month at most, but this still represents a significant change.  For all of us.

The whole idea behind this originated when I realized that the boys would finish school a month before Hubster would be out for the summer. I looked into summer day care and summer camps, but none offered the hours we needed at a price that seems remotely reasonable. Also, the idea of my boys spending summer at day care made me very, very sad.

Thus, the whole idea of getting one of my siblings to come be a temporary nanny was born.

I decided to ask my 21 year old sister for many, many reasons.

A lot of the reasons were actually based on my perceived view of my sister. I felt that she could use some time with us.

Let me tell you a little bit about my sister, all of which would probably make her really upset should she ever read this.

My sister was born 21 years ago, with a birth defect called congenital diaphragmatic hernia. Based on the severity of the defect, she was not expect to survive birth. Miraculously, she did survive (more amazing considering that survival today is around 50%).

Today, she is perfectly healthy.

However, I wouldn't say completely normal. Alright, that might be harsh. Maybe I should say not completely her age. Okay, I don't know how to say it.  So I'll just tell you some of the things going on with my sister.

She graduated high school three years ago.  To this day, she still talks about how much she misses high school.  Many of her friends are still in high school.  She often reverts to a high school mentality.

She started attending college, and actually got a nearly full scholarship due to some hearing loss she has.  However, she failed nearly all of her classes, lost her scholarship, and has now dropped out. 

Her last job was being an Easter bunny at a mall.

So I thought coming and staying with Hubster and me, being the nanny for two awesome little boys, making some money, living in a different place - I thought all of this would be a good thing (plus, I still really, really needed summer child care.)

Despite how great I thought this would be, my sister still drug her feet about making a decision.  It wasn't until almost a month before coming out here that she completely committed to coming.

Now she's here.  And I love it.  I love my sister.  I love having this time with her (although I'm working ridiculous hours, so I'm not sure how much time we really are having together.)  And I love having someone help clean my house, cook meals, and do chores with the boys.  It's still a challenge. Hubster and I are used to just doing our own thing. Not having other adults around. Factoring that in is going to be a change. But I'm still happy she's here.

I'm really looking forward to getting to know her, getting to know the girl behind the heavy make-up, sparkly clothes, and abundant jewelry.  She is a talented, beautiful, smart, passionate woman, and I'm hoping that both of us can get to know that girl better.