Happy Birthday

This is a tribute to my sister, who celebrates her birthday today.

She doesn't know it but she was the first one who broke my heart. She did it when she left our home to work as a flight stewardess abroad. I remember wondering how to fill the gap she left and how lonely I felt. This was not the age of mobile connectivity and Internet access. It was a long time before I was able to fill in that gap.



Growing up, I felt closer to her than to my other sisters because we went to the same school in high school and then later, in college. We were practically together most of the time except on Saturdays when we'd pursue our individual interests. But I remember Saturdays when I would also show up at the lab, where she was doing some experiments as a Chemical Engineering student.

She was always there -- the older sister who could nag me about taking better care of my appearance to turning the other cheek when I did something particularly embarrassing and didn't want to talk about it. I knew that she looked out for me although she wasn't that showy, but then neither was I.

I could run to her when I needed something in college -- she was generous with her allowance as a DOST scholar. If I needed help in Math or the sciences, I would ask her. We weren't just sisters, we were friends. I particularly liked ribbing her about her boyfriend or about the boys who were interested in her. I'd wait for her and she'd wait for me so that we could go home together no matter how late it was. The only time I really minded was when a squabble with her boyfriend got me home earlier than intended from a school shindig where I was dancing with a guy I was interested in.

The point is, she was a great part of my growing up years. She was always there and then suddenly, she wasn't.

But time has shown me how wrong I was about that. She's since married and now lives in the U.S. But she's still there. She's still my older sister, the one I look up to. And nothing between then and now has changed it -- not her marriage or mine or the years apart or the distance.

So today, on her birthday, I take this opportunity to let her know that no matter how many years pass, she will not age any older for me. She will always just be my older sister.