My sister is a saint. I could only hope to one day be half as compassionate as my sister is. She is absolutely amazing. She goes out of her way to help others and care for people.
Growing up I always knew that my sister would be an amazing mother. I couldn’t wait for her to have kids, and to be the fun auntie that spoiled my nephews and niece’s rotten. I was going to be a career woman, with either a husband and no children, or a child and no husband. I didn’t want the responsibility of both. (Funny how that has actually worked out!) My sister and I did a lot of babysitting as a team. She was always the one the kids liked. They wanted Brandi to play with them, Brandi to hold them, and Brandi was the one who could comfort them to make them stop crying.
I was 19 when I *oops!* accidentally got pregnant. The standard reaction of my mom’s friends and co-workers when she told them she was going to be a grandmother was, “Oh my gosh! Brandi’s pregnant?” At the time I thought it was wildly hilarious! My sister was a bit of a wild child, and didn’t really play by anyone’s rules. I on the other hand, led people to believe that I was the good girl of the two. I guess in comparison I was the good girl, but I was certainly no angel myself, I just had everyone fooled. Now thinking back on those comments, I believe their comments were because she was the compassionate one. The one of us that everyone knew would be an amazing mother.
So before my sister became a mother, she was an aunt. C and I were fortunate enough to have my sister live with us for the first 2 years of his life. Brandi was more help than I can ever express, and her and C’s bond I think will always be strong because of how close they were in those first 2 years. Even though Brandi has lived over 200 miles away for the last 5 years, Christian still loves his TeeTee something fierce.
Brandi now has two beautiful daughters of her own, and is a (almost) step-mom to four beautiful children whom she treats as if they are of her own body. I lovingly refer to this group of 6 kids as my sister’s 29 kids. She is amazing to these children. She has the patience of a saint, and an overabundance of love.
Lately not only has she been caring for her 29 kids, and babysitting another, she has been taking care of our mother. Last night I got a text from Brandi that she was taking mom back to the ER. After her last hospital stint a few weeks ago, they discovered that my mom was so malnourished that her body was eating itself…muscle and bone. There was no fat left on her body. On top of her sever malnutrition, she was diagnosed with a bleeding ulcer. She is now on a plethora of medications, and a strict diet of protein powder shakes and vitamin supplements. Her stomach is smaller right now than it was after her gastric bypass surgery 7 years ago.
So…the text message from last night. Brandi got a call from mom, who said her feet were swollen, red and tight. That’s not a good sign. Brandi text me around 9:45pm that she was on her way to the ER with mom. I woke up to 2 text messages this morning, one from 11:45pm saying that they were going to do an ultrasound on moms foot, and that they didn’t know anything yet. The next one was from 1:30 am saying that mom has a blood clot and an infection in her leg. The last part of it said, “It sucks to be me right now! Or in the a.m. it will.”
Because this morning she has to go about her normal day. She doesn’t get to call in sick, or take a personal day because she was at the ER with our mom until the wee hours of the morning. She has to just keep going. Because her 5 month daughter will still get up early and need fed. And the other 28 kids will need her too.
I feel incredibly guilty that I can’t be down there to help her out. She has so much on her plate, and she never stops. She is a giver. She is absolutely amazing.
I love you Dahli, and am in awe. You are so much more than I ever could be.
Single Parent Bloggers Rock/>
