The older kids - Sarah and her husband Andy

I have a daughter from my prior marriage - Sarah. She is now 26-1/2 years old and lives in Indiana with her husband, Andy. Once Sarah got over the shock and embarrassment of her mother being pregnant at an advanced age (her view - not mine!) she really got on board with the idea. True, having 21-1/2 years between my first two children makes for an interesting mix of playmate/aunt/sister. Their relationship evolves constantly. For a LOOOONG time Sarah felt that Miss Mary was pure delight and could do nothing wrong but as she has seen her interact with Julia I've heard exchanges that have me giggling that although they've never lived under the same roof . . . they are SISTAHS!

Sarah married Andy when Mary was I believe between six and seven weeks old. THAT was a memory-maker; traipsing down to Memphis with a nursing baby, husband, and mother-in-law. Fortunately I had known Andy before I ever moved up here as he was Sarah's friend first so I didn't have to worry as to his character or intentions. Mary and Julia simply call him their brother and we don't feel the need to add the "in-law" to the mix. He also was simply my son and we love him.

The older kids come probably every-other-month to keep up-to-date on the developmental milestones of their little sisters. Mary thinks that Andy is her personal playmate/book narrator. He allows her to style his hair. Sarah enjoys snapping up clothes and such for the girls and I enjoy not having to shop myself - they have marvelous tastes and can hone in on a bargain. When we are out together people often assume we are three generations rather than two and we don't usually bother to correct it. Sarah REALLY has a flair with fixing especially Mary's hair and it shows . . . I'm more of a ponytail only Mom.

So, becoming a sister was a bit of an adjustment for Mary last year as well as she had a very distorted view of sisterhood. To her it entailed someone coming in and bestowing time, attention, and affection for long weekends and then leaving with promises to return. Ha!! Reality check!!! Actually although we had some real issues there for a bit last year Mary never expressed her desire to have her sister live in another state. Thank you Sarah for setting an example!