A Family Tribute #3

Keri-Lyn...Smells...Like...Hair..gellin'
(I have no nickname for Keri, and nothing rhymes with Keri-Lyn. Maybe slow dancin'?)

i still think of her as my little 12 year old sister i used to make fun of for listening to n'sync. the jokes on me, though, cause now i like justin timberlake. we're even, okay keri-lyn? i harrassed her mercilessly about her love of all things boy band. she was pretty mad about it for a while, but then it became an ongoing joke between us. at one point, she bought me n'sync buttons for christmas that i proudly displayed all over my 86 corolla. i got some funny looks when people looked into my car to see lance bass on my dashboard with a bearded hippy at the wheel. but i kept those buttons, because i loved my sister, and i was more than happy to get a few wierd looks, so i could laugh and think of here everytime i got into my car.

we didn't always get along. i remember once finding a picture of us when we were both little toddlers running around on the beach, but i was so mad at her that day, that i ripped her out of the picture. i still remember her crying and feeling like i had done the worst thing in the world to her that i possibly could have. it took us a while to get on track with our relationship, but i suppose that is normal of most siblings.

i still remember the first time i realized that i really loved my sister. it was at clearview camp, either the summer of, or the summer before i graduated. it was teen week, and i was there and so was she. i remember laughing and joking with her. i remember keeping my eye on her for any guys that might be getting a little too close. i remember thinking, man, my sister is way cooler than i am! my new favorite picture of us, as opposed to the one that i...uh...sort of...ripped up, is one of us at camp that year. i have my arm around her and we are both smiling and it just brings joy to my heart to know that such a sweet amazing person is my own blood. don't ask me how it worked out that way. i hardly deserve it! i guess it's my parents good work or something like that...

keri-lyn is an amazing person. she works in daycare, which i believe to be such a noble profession. to take care of others children is a difficult and draining thing to do. she has a love and patience for children that i've only seen in my mother, and as a father myself, i know how much i would appreciate knowing that a person like her was keeping my child safe and loved. that part of her personality rolls over into her everyday relationships as well, as i see her caring for others in that same way. she is just like my mom, which is the best compliment i could give her. i wonder if that means alvaro thinks my mom is hot? sorry, alvaro. i had to say it. she will make an amazing mother someday. i know alvaro knows this, but he is so lucky to have her. you are wonderful keri-lyn, and i'm so proud of you. thanks for showing me a better way to live through your life. much love from your bro.


p.s.-i know i didn't bug her as much as mark and pete in their tributes, but what do you expect? mark and pete are way worse than keri-lyn. watch out joy. your next!