Sunday, October 18, 2015

I wanted to give her concert tickets. Then I considered a box of pumpkin faces. A blog post and gift card were my last option.


To be honest, I still can’t really picture Adrienne with a baby.  It’s like imagining the Burkesville Dollar Store both clean and not gommed up.  In my mind, she will always be the “little sister” to whom Mom gave unfortunate bowl cuts, yet in contradictory logic, clearly considered and considers the favorite (Leigh and I accepted this long ago; at least it meant I prolonged that hairstyle until collage when I accidently self-inflicted it in the fall of 1998). She is the blunt one who, upon making her first ever trip to Benton, told Zach’s early-rising, quite fit mother, “I don’t love walking. If you’re asking me if I want to go exercise with you, no.”  Adrienne has no qualms in acknowledging that she’s never started a lawn mower or cooked supper two nights in a row. As of a few months ago, “nurturing” and “good at doing things you don’t want to do” are probably not the qualities I immediately and instinctually associated with Adrienne. This is not to suggest, however, that my sister is either irresponsible or unlikable. In fact, quite the contrary. You can’t help but love Adrienne. She will consistently be one of the funniest in any room she walks in. She is a fantastic elementary school teacher. When she gives her opinion, you can trust that it is honest and will inevitably remind you to also expect (if not demand) what you deserve.  She is a kind granddaughter, the only child who will let Mom dance in the kitchen (including an awkward, yet repeated, hip bump) to “Slow Jazz” without saying something along the lines of, “Just stop,” and the wife who is obviously adored by her not-so-bad-himself husband. 

And, you know what, despite the opening line, Adrienne is also the one who I am starting to see as a really wonderful mother.  In fact, I think Charlotte is going to have just one of the coolest moms ever, a mother who teaches her how to get along with everyone, make witty off-hand comments, and always expect and create the life she deserves.  I could want nothing more for any of my nieces.  So, as long as Zach always gets up in the middle of the night, fixes all the meals, does all of the yardwork, washes all the clothes, and finds time to take the dogs out too, they should be in good shape. ;)

Today, though, Adrienne is not mother-to-be.  Adrienne is birthday girl.  Happy birthday to the “little sister” who is becoming an even better version of herself, the one who inspires this nine-year-older sister to be more flexible, the one who unfailingly looks cuter at seven months pregnant than I do at zero months pregnant.   

Now, hurry up and get that baby out so we can go to more Avett Brothers concerts.