Something Borrowed- What it really means to have a sister

Every now and then we've all had to be reminded to share. But no one as much as two sisters.

It went from toys, to clothes, to shoes, to makeup, but as a sister with a sister you have always had to share. Everything.

I can remember being so angry to come home and find that something had been taken with out permission. Seeing it on the floor of her room, not being able to find it when you want it, or, even worse, seeing her in the throes of using it! More than anything you wanted her to stay out of your stuff.There were times when it felt like nothing was sacred, like nothing was really just YOURS. Some days it didn't feel like sharing, it felt like stealing. And such blatant thievery should be punished, shouldn't it? But mom's response was always just a sigh and a shrug with a reminder that she was your sister and to "try to get along better."

As you get older, and you move out and grow apart, you begin to learn that all that stealing wasn't really all that bad.. After all, you took stuff from her too, right? In recent years I began to remember that stealing as less of a punishable offense and began to see it for exactly what it was: sister sharing.

Sharing between sisters is different because it never ends. I have gone to my sister's house and borrowed her clothes, she has come back home and borrowed my clothes. And moreover, we still didn't ask each other.

Now that my sister and I are both co-habitating that same place I have found that her tendencies to help herself to whatever she likes in my closet has not changed. I find her wearing my clothes... often... but it doesn't upset me now like it used to. Possibly because I know that I borrow her makeup and never ask for that either, but more likely it's because I have realized the value of having a sister. Because over and over she has proven to be the one person who is always going to be there for me.

And really, what's a dress or a little eyeshadow between sisters?