S.I.L.

I miss my sister-in-law. I don't have an actual sister. I have one brother who is 3 years older and with whom I have a close bond (thankfully), but not a sister. I grew up watching the special relationship between my Mom and her sister, who we call GAP. My Mom and GAP were very close and had an interesting dynamic...with my mother being the older, bossier sister. You could tell that they would never, never let each other down intentionally...and to my knowledge they never did. Even after my Mother's passing, GAP has stepped up in so many ways to fill the massive void left in my own life. And for that I am especially grateful. So seeing that model of sisterhood and benefiting from it's effects, I'm thankful that I have a contemporary female family member with whom I feel close. AGF, my s.i.l., and my brother went to college together. They were roommates, along with 2 other men and 2 other women, for most of their college career. My brother harbored a secret crush on AGF for most of those 4 years ("secret" might be the wrong word, I mean even I could tell!). It wasn't until their graduation party that he had the stones to make a move. Lucky for us, he did. And almost 20 years later, here we are. Over those years I've grown to love AGF like my own sister and we've shared numerous heart-to-hearts. I consider myself very lucky...as some people I know don't really even like their sister-in-laws. I haven't been able to talk to AGF recently and I miss her. I know life will settle down and that will change. And I look forward to it.