meet my sister!

paige lezlie sowder came into my life back in the winter of 1994. only nine years old at the time, i'll never forget the day that my baby sister was born. andrew had hoped he would have a baby brother and when they broke the news to him that she was indeed a girl, he burst into tears. i, on the other hand, was elated and knew my life had changed for the better! now, 15 years later, i am still so happy to have little paigey in my life.

even though paige and i are separated by a pretty incredible age gap (she'll never understand why i was so infatuated with zack morris and i'll never understand why the jonas brothers are h-o-t), i still consider her to be one of my very best friends. she and i have an unbreakable bond that has managed to hold strong through the division of long distances and inevitable sisterly misunderstandings.



why do i love her? well, for starters, she's absolutely hilarious. seriously, she's got such a quick wit and an insanely dry, intelligent sense of humor (think chelsea handler.) she tells stories that have everyone laughing until they're blue in the face! she's also fearless. paigey's not afraid of anyone or anything. while it pains me to say so, i was always more concerned with pleasing people around me and cared so much what others thought of me (still do), but not my sister. she is who she is and she owns that. if she disagrees with you, she'll tell you straight to your face, no bones about it. i still can't do that. she's one of the most confident people i've ever known and at 15, she has such a strong sense of self. she also has a very protective instinct about her and she would defend one of her friends or any member of her family until the bitter end. although i always tried to be the golfer in the family, paige has kicked her sister's tail. you've got to see this girl take a drive - amazing. she even made it to the regional tournament this year as a freshman! did i mention that she's immeausurably creative? you should see all the things she's always making/drawing/sewing - it's incredible. and she's absolutely beautiful, yet she has no idea that she is. but more than anything, there's a freedom about my sister. when speaking with her, you just know that she isn't bound by any insecurities or limitations. i know she's young and she has so much life left to experience, but that is something i hope never changes about her.



quite honestly, my little sister is the kind of girl i've always wanted to be or attempted to be, but i just couldn't quite pull it off as effortlessly as she manages to do.

baby sister, you make your older sister so very proud - glad i got to help raise that child! i love you!