"Nobody Calls My Sister Stupid, STUPID"

On the school bus in elementary school there was an ugly, smelly boy (I am assuming, I really don't remember) who was not so nice to me.  One morning, I was looking for a place to sit and this boy yelled at me and said, "You are so stupid".  Here I was with these huge red gnarly glasses that my mom said I had to wear until I was old enough to wear contacts, with teeth the size of Japan with braces from ear to ear, plus the most amazing jacket EVER!  (GG, Tasha, and Eli you know what jacket I am talking about).  Anyways, he called me stupid.  Well, I was shocked and applaud, just so embarrassed, I had no smart ass comment to make, but had times been different and I had heels on at a younger age the left heel would have been up his nose in a heart beat.  But something better happened, my sister, little Eli, came to the rescue and she said, "Nobody calls my sister stupid, STUPID".  Right then and there I knew she had balls!

I remember when Eli became cool.  No, it was not when I hosted (aka: CONTROLLED) her 8 year old birthday party using my wit, and my patrol badge... nor was it when I tried to flush her down the toilet.  It was when I was in the 8/9th grade and she was in the 4/5th.  My mom sent us to Kansas to visit my Titi (Aunt Meliza).  This was one of the only times, until recent years, we traveled without my mom.  It was a sad and gloomy day for me.  One, I was stuck with "her" and two, I was so scared to fly without my mom.  PS- I am the oldest.

I remember boarding the plane and my mom did not seem like she was going to miss me as much as I was going to miss her.  This really concerned because I am a huge Mama's Girl.  Was this a plot to stick me with my sister and send us off to Kansas and the Frito Lay factory to live there forever, or did she just really need a break from us?  My sister is very intuitive (she gets it from me) and knew I was a nervous wreck.  She held my hand on the flight (I also suffer from airplane sickness...) as I held my teddy bear, "Alfredo" and we took off safely and landed safely.  She had balls, I didn't.  --To this day that bear still goes everywhere--

We had a great time in Kansas together.  Titi had a fun planned week with lots of activities that we will keep as memories forever.  One in particular was going to a farm and collecting ostrich eggs which Eli and I proceeded to eat the next morning for our love of eggs.  Definitely not as good as regular old organic cage free eggs like Traders Joes.  In addition, Titi did not want us to leave the state until... wait for this...  we took the most amazing tour of the FRITO LAY factory...  LMAO.  It was okay, but it was a big deal for us to see the highlights of TOPEKA, KS by doing this.  The most fun was enjoying my sister.  We actually slept in the same room... odd but we are probably the only sisters in the world that never had to share a room with one another.  We honestly did not fight much when we were there and I realized that at the time she was just as mature as I was.  We laughed, we joked around and had a plain ole' good time.  From then on I stopped telling people I had a brother instead of a sister, (yea I would do this...  I just really wanted a brother) and I started to hang out with her and include her with my friends.

As we have gotten older, but still look young, we have gotten closer.  I love and miss her all the time, even when she is hours away or just a few miles down the road.  Time with her is never enough and I am pretty demanding at times, but I just want to be with her.  I am so proud of her and her accomplishments.  Eli is a strong independent girl and will always have the balls to stick up for herself, even if I get my patrol badge out again, she would stick up for me and vise versa!