Sisters

When we host Thanksgiving next week, we're having a slightly larger crowd than we expected originally. Seven people instead of five, so really not a big deal, but I think it will be an interesting day.

You see, two of the people there will be my sister and my sister-in-law (Aaron's brother's wife). They're about the same age (about 6 months difference), but lead incredibly different lives.

My sister is in college at a prestigious private school. She lives in the dorms, has a boyfriend, and just joined a sorority. She went to Argentina for study abroad last spring and this spring she's headed to China for another study abroad program. She's thriving at college - luckily her boyfriend is really smart, a really hard worker, competitive, and doesn't party much even though he's in a fraternity, so this means that she competes with him over grades (a little healthy competition), works hard, and doesn't party much either. But they still have a lot of fun, don't get me wrong. She's much more mature and organized than I was at her age. I was quite a mess at her age, actually, and I'm surprised and lucky I've made it to (almost) 27.

My sister-in-law, on the other hand, is leading a completely different life. She's married with a baby on the way. Her husband works all hours of the day and night at a restaurant and she works 3rd shift at a paper plant. She was in school, but dropped out because money was tight, and doesn't know if she'll ever go back. She's incredibly religious, and doesn't party at all. She also used to be a model, and went through many of the same problems I had, just at a younger age. She also was in the Army for a little while, but was honorably discharged due to health problems.

I can relate to both of these girls, but what will be interesting is how they relate to each other. Two girls, young women actually, who are similar in some ways but so completely different in others. I'm a little nervous about how it's all going to work out, but I'm sure it will be fine.

And really, I just can't wait to have so many of my family members all together for a day.