As a countdown to my 30th birthday on March 18, I’ve committed to offering 30 people, things and experiences I want to celebrate from the last 30 years. Grab a piece of cake and enjoy reading!

To some degree Kelley and I couldn’t be more different. She likes Vegas; I like the Grand Canyon. She buys a new car every few years; I passed 210,000 miles on my ‘97 Saturn just today. I tend to run cold; she tends to run hot. Her purse is from Coach; mine is from Whole Foods.

(This photo is of Kelley and my brother Sean, taken around the time I was born.)

If you were to meet Kelley for the first time, you’d likely describe her as quiet. Maybe shy. And because of that you might not expect that at every point throughout the last 30 years, my sister has been among my most ardent supporters, cheerleaders, defenders and advocates.

As a matter of fact, my earliest recollections of someone going to bat for me all involve Kelley. They’d be minor details, I suppose, if she lacked consistency, but consistency seems to be her strong suit.

Recently, I began to notice on Facebook that Kelley is always the first to comment on a link I post on my fan page or like my status update. She re-posts my blog and signs up for my workshops. And I suddenly realized that my whole life has been colored by this support, this knowledge that someone always has my back, always wants the best for me, always goes out of her way for me.

I see now how much of my courage and my drive for independence is a direct line from Kelley’s love. I go after what I want – whether its a bigger paycheck, a trip abroad, or a relationship – because she modeled that for me. Every single time she stood up for me (or for herself), I learned that I, too, could stand up for myself.

There couldn’t possibly be a better gift to receive from your big sister. And so I’m going to take this gift and put it into play for the rest of my life. And maybe, just maybe, standing up for myself will be thanks enough for all the times she’s gone to bat for me.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 24th, 2010 at 7:33 pm and is filed under celebration, change, sustainability. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.