Ellen

I miss my sister today. Ellen would be having her 47th birthday today, she has been gone for a little over 10 years. I know that 20 years of her life were spent battling a rare disease, but she still managed to have a pretty good attitude all things considered. I miss her humor, her generosity, and just her.

The other night I had a dream about her, we were getting ready for some family event and we were spending the day in town, going to all her favorite haunts...K-mart, Dollar stores, etc. I turned to her and said, "Man Ellen, I miss you so much. How come you never come around very much anymore?" She just gave me this funny look, and then I said, "Oh yeah, because you're dead." Then we just laughed. To some people that might sound really strange, but that is just how our family is.

I miss Ellen chasing my cat out of her room, buying way to much Avon from her, and hearing Christmas songs coming from her room in June. I even miss visiting her in the hospital and going down to the cafeteria together (even though I wasn't really hungry). But most of all I just miss her. I know how difficult her physical limitations were, and I wouldn't wish that she were still here in her suffering...but that doesn't stop me from missing her today.

Happy Birthday Ellen