Sister? Try Stranger.

Pix Pops By

My sister Catherine (Pix) has apparently been over from Melbourne, her permanent home, for a few days and this evening we recieved our semi-required visit. Generally, this consists of a few 'how are you's' on my part, with maybe a little school talk thrown in for variety. Very awkward. However, this time, with the parentals away AGAIN, i was thrown into the task of driving her to the airport. This meant at least an added half hour of the awkward coversation. Obviously, i survived (well, i could be writing to you from beyond the grave!) but it was a close call. All too soon we had exhausted the usual polite conversation, so she started in on her fallback - questioning, seemingly inncoently, the stuff my friends and i read/watch/listen to, because her job involves knowing. She has a really cool job! Anyway, eventually she left the confines of my car for the gleaming white of our new airport.

On the drive home (i had the music blaring rather loudly and my windows down, but still found it conduitive to thought), i was pondering the strangeness of my relationship with my sister. She's actually my half sister, but that's not a huge issue. She's thirteen years older than me and by the time i was born she was spending more time with her mother (not my mother). By the time i was about 5, she'd moved home i think - i can't really remember - but then my little brother was born and she was at the age where the brother was far cuter than the five year old. It was a similar deal with my half brother (but he's really a whole other kettle of fish). So, we grew up and she moved out again eventually. It's all pretty hazy to me. Then she moved interstate and from that point onwards i really only saw her at christmas/birthdays/when she was in town for some other occassion, and even then it wasn't always.

I suppose i never got to know her, so the in-built sisterly relationship wasn't ever there. Nowadays, i'm pretty shy around her; she's really gorgeous, smart, successful, self-sufficient - Dad's perfect example in a fight, unfortunately. She gets along well with her other half sister (not my half sister, her mum's other kid... very confusing, i know), she often goes over to stay with her in Melbourne, they seem to have a proper family relationship. I'm not sure quite how that worked out, she's the same age as me. Maybe they grew up more together, i think Pix may have been living with her then? Or maybe they're just similar? Have more common interests? Who knows.

It's pretty strange having a sister whom you hardly see and hardly know. But then again, i guess my family has hardly ever been the usual! Even so, it'd be nice to know her better - she seems like she would've been a cool sister to grow up with... Ah well, can't change the past and i'll just have to work on the future. Damn it, shyness shouldn't apply to family! It makes things sooo much harder!

Anyway, she's gone again until Christmas now. I'll let you know how that goes...

Ani