As the sun peeked through the slit in the curtain, I slowly opened my eyes and rolled over. Suddenly, I realized the entire blanket was bunched up on the other half of the bed. It was Sunday morning so everyone was sleeping in and the house was silent.

But not for long. With a sharp tug, I yanked on the nearest corner of the blanketed bundle. Rudely awakened from a deep sleep, Doris was not feeling particularly cheery. As I took advantage of her slow movements and started pulling the blanket to my side of the bed as fast as I could, she answered with a grumpy “stop!” and pulled back. Soon we were both rolled up in our side of the blanket, absolutely determined to wrest it from each other. As the shoving and yanking grew worse so did the tempers. With a sudden rush and a hard shove, I pushed her off the edge.

Of course that was the end of peace and quiet in our house as she stormed downstairs.  I don’t know how I was punished that time but I’m quite sure something happened. Since then I’ve long forgotten the fights that sometimes drove us to irrational things like shoving each other off the bed. Now, I couldn’t ask for a better sister and friend. From laughing long into the night until our sides hurt and Mom having to tell us to go to sleep, (twice) to patiently listening as I spilled my frustrations, Doris has been there for me through it all.

As I made the sometimes difficult transition into a dating relationship, she was the one who helped me calm my crazy emotions and helped me make rational decisions when my heart was running away. It wasn’t easy for her to let Aaron into our tight knit relationship and for a while I was concerned about whether our new dating status would ruin their previous friendship. 😊 Today, I couldn’t ask for a better sister or boyfriend and I love how much fun we have together.

Along with being one of my closest friends and my go-to girl for talking “girl stuff,” Doris has been an amazing model for hundreds of test shots and has patiently let me practice my photography skills on her. Check out this post where she let me pose her in all crazy sort of ways as an example of what “not to do.”

Doris, I am so proud of the beautiful woman you’ve become. I love how you are pursuing music and your dedication to playing your violin. Finding your way through life and making important life decisions isn’t always easy but you are already doing so many great things and I know you will continue to do so!