My Princess

Katie is a vision standing on the green turf football field in her floor length deep blue dress. Her fare skin glows against the dark hue. Her hair has been curled into tight golden ringlets that bounce around her shoulders as she walks. She has pinned the front back on either side to reveal her shining smile and sparkling blue eyes. She seems to float with every move she makes. Katie has been chosen by her senior class to represent her high school as a member of the homecoming court. She is a royal beauty.
This is the first time since Christmas, over half a year ago, that my whole family has been able to gather together at once. We all have traveled home from college and new jobs to celebrate Katie and her continuing success. My family and I sit among the bleachers gazing down at her standing with my dad, her arm laced in his; she is beaming. A woman's voice over the loud speaker of the stadium is reading aloud the answers to a questionnaire that Katie has previously filled out. The questions discuss where she plans to go to college, what she would have done differently in her high school career, and who the most inspirational person  in her life is.
My eyes begin to fill as I hear the answer she has written down for this last question. "The most inspirational person in Katie's life is her sister Danika. Katie says that when thinking of Danika she knows that 'If I kick a balloon to you, I know that you will not let that balloon touch the ground. And call me crazy, but I think that's important." What an odd and meaningful compliment. These words take me back through an album of memories. Memories involving Katie and I at our first hip hop class together, singing "The Girls of Rock and Roll" in the grass of our front yard, sipping coffee on our back deck in the morning as mist begins to rise from the mountains in front of us, our trip to Disney World. I recall hearing Katie perform her first singing solo, the two of us playing the roles of cards together in an "Alice and Wonderland" play, spending countless hours swimming, singing as loud as we possibly could at a Journey concert.
These memories will remain forever in my heart and mind. There is not a day that goes by where I don't thank God for giving me a best friend for a sister. There have been several times where Katie and I have been asked questions wondering how we could be friends since we are sisters. Those questions have never made sense to me. As far back into my memories as I can reach, I remember thinking of Katie and feeling nothing but admiration for her.
As I gaze down at her from my stadium seat, we make eye contact and I wave at her. She returns my wave and aims her shining smile towards me. She is a picture of elegance and grace. The woman's voice reads all of the academic honors and athletic accomplishments gained by Katie, and I hope more than anything that she knows that she also serves as an inspiration for me. I could not ask for a more blessed relationship with my sister.

I love you Katie.