Because I know how lucky I am to have her....

It's odd - my sister and I have next to nothing in common.  If we weren't biologically related, we'd probably have never met, let alone hung out together.  She's five years younger, a million times cooler and completely different from me.  She's got a bigger temper, but I can hold a grudge way longer.  She's got a tendency to seem tough, but she's actually way more of a softie than I am.  I'm more likely to be thought of as the nice one, the one who's more responsible - but push comes to shove, Mandi is much more likely to rush to your aid.   I was always the one that everyone thought of as being just like my mother, but the older we get, the more I realize that she channels my mom way more than I do.   She's always late (maybe we do have some things in common), she wouldn't read a book for pleasure if you paid her.  She drinks and smokes and parties like a rock star- whereas I've never smoked and get buzzed off of one drink, and avoid parties if at all possible.  She's the one belting out songs I don't know at karaoke parties, bringing the beer and turning the music up.  In short, my sister just is cool and awesome and I'm consistently charmed by her.

Despite our differences (or maybe because of them) she's one of my favorite people.  She's the link to my childhood, she was my first baby.  She's the one I snuggled at night in my bed, the one who shared a room with me from the time I was six until I was eighteen.  I've called her "Witch" since she was a kid, and have long forgotten the book that I got it from.  But for me, a witch is someone magical and powerful and awesome - and when I call her Witch, at least 95% of the time, that's how I mean it.  She's someone I'm utterly comfortable with, she's the one person in the world who always, always tries with my kids.  She's their Auntie, and while at times I'm sure she terrifies them (similiar to the way that I was always just slightly scared of my aunt Cathy), she's been consistently loving and attentive to them.

And tonight, she cut my hair and gave me highlights.   I would never have spent the amount of time and attention on my own hair that she did, but it looks freaking awesome.