Here's To You

My little sister and I NEVER...I mean NEVER got along until we both got out of our teenage years. Now she is one of my best friends and I don’t know what I would do without her. She is hysterical and she laughs until she cries. She is my biggest fan no matter what I do.  When I was learning to play the bass...she would listen to me do a horrible rendition of Last Kiss over and over again until I got it right. Now she asks me to play it all the time.

My little sister is beautiful and has the best personality of anyone I’ve ever known. I honestly believe that the reason we never got along before was because I was jealous of her. And I was the middle child. Middle children live such hard lives. J

In May, my little sister went under the knife and had lap-band surgery. For those of you that don’t know what that is, it’s basically a band they surgically install around your stomach so that you don’t eat as much. I went to all the seminars with her about weight loss surgeries and we both decided the lap-band was the safest way to go.

You see, she’s been overweight her whole life. It’s in our genes. It has been passed down from our ancestor’s ancestors.  She was made fun of. She was left out. She was ridiculed in every possible way. Kids are fucking cruel. But my little sister kept up her high spirits and lovable personality and kept on going. She pushed through high school and made it out with her self-esteem still intact. She is a fighter. I would have never made it through. I was always popular in school. I was fortunate enough to get a little bit of the skinny-gene someone had left behind in our family. I could wear the pricey clothes and fit in with the cool crowd.  None of that matters after you graduate though, does it?  No...real life hits you and you really begin to discover who you are.

So, my little sister decided for herself and only herself that she wanted to do something about her weight because she didn’t want to die young.  It really kills me because I look in the mirror and pick out all of the things I hate about myself, and she looks in the mirror and says, “Damn, my boobs are growing. This fucking rocks.”

I remember about a year ago we were walking into the mall and a guy turned his head to look at us. I said, “That dude was totally checking us out.” and my little sister said, “Why would you he want a piece of meat when he could have the whole cow? He was totally checking me out.”  That’s just the type of personality she has always had, no matter what.

Anyways...after many, many, many doctor’s visits, blood test, stress tests, and even a spinal tap, my sister was approved for the surgery.

Today, my dear little sister hit a goal. Today she stepped on the scale and today she learned that she was 80 pounds lighter. Today my sister went shopping for an outfit and discovered that she has also gone down another jean size.  Today, my sister’s self esteem went up impossibly more. And today...if you are reading this, Sister, know that I cried happy tears for you.

Here’s to you little sister.

P.S. For anyone who makes fun of overweight people...cut that shit out and grow up. It ain't funny.