My Sister, My Friend

As a child growing up, my life was very difficult. Having been a victim of emotional and sexual abuse, my mind was always confused, my heart always broken. The one thing that I always yearned for was a sister. Someone to confide in, someone who would understand and most importantly...someone to hug when things were real scary. Oh, I had a couple of brothers, but I just knew that a sister would make the difference.

As an adult, I am now a survivor of my childhood abuse and also a survivor of marital abuse. My mind is not so confused now, my heart not quite so broken but I still need the confidante and the hugs. Some things we just never outgrow no matter how old we become. Oh, I have my daughters and they, along with my granddaughter, are the most important things in my life. But I still feel the void left by having no sister. Or maybe I should say "felt the void".

This is where Tammy enters my life. I met her here, on the internet. For more than 40 years I have searched for a special somebody. She would be more than a special friend. She would become part of my family... part of my heart. And I have found her in the most unlikely place... clear across the country.

But, she is with me. With me in my thoughts, my hopes and my heart. She has filled that void so well that I can almost forget what it felt like. She has made me laugh when I was so sure I had nothing to laugh about. And she has cried with me when I was so sure that the tears would never stop. She has felt my pain, my sorrow, my happiness.

And now she has given me something so wonderful I will never be able to thank her enough. She has given me hope for the future and a promise that she will be here to share it with me. She has given me me the one thing I have always prayed for.

I have my sister...and I love her.

A present from Tammy :-)