I came across this old photo of my sister and I cutting up, just for laughs, at my Aunt Muriel and Uncle Jake’s home in Wisconsin.  It brought back so many memories of the fun times we shared, not only as sisters, but as nieces to a wonderful couple.  These two always made us feel special.

My Uncle served in World War II and kept a black and white photo of me as his two year old pinup girl. Aunt Muriel was a fun loving, quick witted, cracker jack of a woman, who was my dad’s sister.  She, along with her three siblings, lived their childhood without a father.  Aunt Muriel was a little chubby when she was a young girl, so she was a great encouragement to me as I struggled with my weight.  She and her sister, Margaret, were really great role models for us.  Both small town girls, with hearts of gold.

My sister was not always my friend.  In fact our age difference of almost five years, caused me more embarrassment and a sense of obligation to put up with her.  I thought nothing of making her sit in the front of the bus, so I could be alone with my friends in the back.  Thankfully, the Lord has changed my thinking and I treasure this woman as my very best female friend ever.

When we were kids, we shared a bedroom.  We shared a lot of things, although her clothes were too small for me and mine were too stretched out for her.  Our mom told great stories when we were growing up – stories that piqued our imagination and gave us our creativity and sense of humor.

We would act out some of those stories after mom kissed us goodnight.  We’d strip the sheets from the bed and wear them as evening gowns – parading across the bed as if we were Miss America.  Once while we played out the Cinderella story, I dropped the “glass slipper” on my face and wound up with a black eye the next day.  That took some explaining.

The old photo of my sister and I in the old fashioned swim suits, shows how much we liked to clown around.  She’s the one in the colorful swim suit.  She could wear stripes. I couldn’t.  It also reminds me that my aunt had this giant chest filled with funny costumes.  She undoubtedly had a lot to do with my love of performing.  I have a garage full of funny costumes too.

It’s fun to look back at old memories and see how they’ve crafted the course of your life.  We are a product of our environment and I believe that God places all these wonderful people in our lives for a purpose.  Without them, we’d be pretty boring.