Nieces

Today is my niece Rachel's 23rd birthday. Here she is on the right, pictured with her older sister, Lucy.

Lucy and Rachel are my sister's daughters, and grew up in Chile because their parents were missionaries. Lucy moved back for college, and Rachel moved back with her parents when she was in high school. Although they lived countries away and I only saw them every few years, they never felt like strangers to me.

The best part of having nieces is to see the relationship they have with each other, which is the same relationship my sister and I have, and that my daughters share. It's that "I love you/you make me furious because you are my sister" relationship that bonds you together. It's the knowledge that you will always be there for each other, for better or worse. It's having a best friend, someone to watch your back, someone to take up for you, and a ready companion. It's the best and most difficult relationship you can have - if you're lucky enough to have a sister.

Rachel and Lucy have separately traveled all over the world - to Thailand, Japan, China, and soon to Bolivia, just to name a few spots they've landed. But no matter where their lives take them, they know they will always have each other, because that's what sisters do. As their aunt, I'm proud of the way they live their lives, but most of all I'm proud of who they are.