Being the older sibling is no hot ticket. You have to be the role model or the perfect child, never making any mistakes, your parents pressuring you to set a good example. As a kid I remember it just being Grant and I. We were two reckless scoundrels looking for trouble. All we looked out for was just each other and no one else. Not for long...



We were all pacing back and forth along the cool marble floor of the hospital waiting room. The whole Kelly clan packed into a tiny waiting room only meant to hold fifteen that is now holding around twenty-five to thirty people; now anxiously a waiting for the birth of my new baby brother or sister. Everyone gibbering or jabbering of whom the baby will look like, will it be a boy or a girl, and what to name this precious gift.



I on the other hand was pouting in the corner hoping that someone would recognize my sobbing and come to cheer me up. To me this wasn’t that big of a deal. The family had been waiting for ‘it’ for nine months now and was used to the usual frenzied chatter. I refused to let my feelings take over. Truly I think that a family of four is fine but five is a crowd. I heard footsteps coming down the dark dreary hallway. It was my Nana she had two cups of tea in her tiny, pale, lifeless hand one for me and one for Grant. She plopped her tired body in the chair next to mine. It had been eighteen hours of tireless waiting and it was beginning to show on my Nana’s face. Her fiery hair curling angrily and flowing freely was now loosely hanging in strands of brown streaked with gray hair lying loosely on her face from her tightly held bun. She whispered to me “I know this not exactly how wanted things to turn out but when I was a girl I used to write things down instead of showing my feelings. It helps venting any unwanted feelings that you have. So go give it a try.”



She then handed me a piece of paper and a pen. I shoved them into my pocket untill the right moment came. The hospital door opened the whole room jumped with surprise. The doctor waved his hand towards Grant and I to come in. When we reached my mothers bed she was holding my baby sister Grace Elizabeth Kelly. My dad picked up the baby and motioned me to sit down so I could hold her. I did as was told and sat down. She was so beautiful. She had light blonde hair sprouting from her bald head, bright blue eyes that were as blue as the sea, and tiny hands that could fit in my palm. It was amazing how I could be so mad at her one minute and loving her the next. Then she did something I could never forget. She placed her tiny hand upon my cheek, turned her tiny head towards me, and stared at me just stared. I realized something then. That Grace was a gift. She was sent to me to give me warmth, show me comfort when I was down, and to be my friend. Just then I bent over and whispered into her ear, “I love you.” Hot tears streamed down my chilled cheeks. I immediately handed her to Grant and he had a what–do want-me-to-do-with-it expression thrusted upon his chubby face, and I then pulled out the crimpled piece of paper from my pocket. I sat down in the chair next to the window with the warm rays of the afternoon sun beating down on my head. Nana was right if you write down your feelings on a sheet of paper you do feel better. This was going to be my autobiography of what really happened on this day, the day a miracle was born.



“Being the older sibling is no….”