Yeah - that's right. Nee Nee Nee - with joyfully teasing eyes, pink tongue staring annoyingly from pursed lips, and the wicked tone of an older sister.

My parents took a trip this summer and brought back some lovely pottery from an artist in Vermont (or maybe Maine?) - Odyssey Stoneware. Mom let me pick, since my birthday is fast approaching, and I will be ONE YEAR short of 40! [good lord - how did that happen] So, I studied the pieces carefully; turning them, holding them, even sniffing them once to ensure there was no sense left unsettled. I took the mug I clearly recognized as my sister's piece. And I left her, the larger, bluer piece... the one I would have taken, yet, I selfishly sent it away to find a spot on her shelves.

Monica called, "Hey - what does MY MUG look like?"
"Oh, just like something you would LOVE," I replied, like the daunting older sister I am well schooled in.
"Heeeeyyyyyyy!" she whined, "You need to send me a picture of my Mug!"
Yeah - I could... or I could hold off for a while and just let my mother's description do it justice.
Ultimately, I kept the mug my sister would have wanted, because I knew that each time I used it I would think of her, and when she had MY mug, she would think of me. It's the only way to be close from 2052 miles away.

Labels: Monica, sisters