My (not so little anymore) Sister

Silly me. I forgot to add a blog about my little sister, Kristina.

I met Kristina in 2008, when she was just 12 years old, through the Big Brother Big Sister program in Prince George. I couldn’t have a baby, and at that time I wasn’t allowed to have a dog, so I got a little sister ;-)

I was supposed to be a good influence on Kristina, which I am sure I was, but she was really good for me as well. I have always had a hard time relating to a classroom full of teenagers. But I had never really been in a situation to deal with them one on one. Being with her helped me to open up to new perspectives as to how teens saw the world. I looked forward to spending time with her, whether it was baking Pepsi cupcakes, walking dogs at the SPCA, fishing, or just hanging out. I had thought that when I went back to work after my cancer treatments that it would be hard to continue to be her big sister, but I found that it was a welcome relief to hang out with her, and do something completely unrelated to work. She infused me with much needed energy.

One of the projects we did that stands out in my memory was to paint a giant can of tomato soup on a plastic barrel for a community garden. We made a great team and I was pretty impressed with our final product.

Kristina is now 19 years old. We still keep in touch via Facebook. She is a mommy!!!! Her son Connor is 6 months old. She is engaged and looks absolutely radiant in the photos that she posts on FB. I can’t wait for the opportunity to meet him someday, and to reconnect with her in person. I can’t believe I haven’t seen her in over 2 years! I miss you Krissy!