Things I Love: My 3 Younger Sisters

I love my three younger sisters. I figured I'd let you in on these three wickedly cool broads.

Meghan is two years younger than me. We shared a bedroom until I was 17 years old. Bunk beds and all. I was top bunk and she bottom and we had this long mirror that we'd talk through after lights were out. Our topics generally ranged from boys to boys. We actually created this secret collection of "Kathleen + _______ "and "Meghan + _______" hearts scrawled on the underside of my top bunk. We'd lay shoulder to shoulder in her bunk and change the hearts weekly to match our fickle crushes. She kept that mattress for years.

When I was 17 and she was 15 she let me cut off half her head of hair...she actually trusted me to do this, which is, quite frankly, the coolest thing ever. I mean, that's a serious level of trust, isn't it?

That's Lil' Meg on the left and my spectacularly beautiful mother in the middle...and the other one, the one with the squirrel tail covering half of her face, well, that would be me. Yep. Meg's hair isn't pushed over her shoulder. Nope. It's not pinned back on one side. Nope. It is gone. She let me cut it off. We were into being 100% different. No Izod or preppy shit for us. Looking back, there is no one else on this planet I would have rather been a 'punker' with than my sister Meghan.

Meghan has always had the best "Okay, let's do it...let's go there...let's try it" attitude. She gets me to do/see/try fun stuff. She has been my partner in crime since birth. We continue to get up to fun, just the two of us, to this day. Let's hope that continues forever.

Onto Nikole...

Nikole was born cool - six years after me. I remember watching her with her friends when she was in 6th grade and thinking...holy crap...I was never that cool when I was 12. I was too busy struggling to get my hair to stay in the Princess Leia buns I chose to wear to school in the 8th grade. Nikole was cool because she had confidence and swagger - still does. I turned this one closet in my bedroom into a public library, complete with check out cards and due dates. Nikole would check out books from my library and return them late - and I charged A FINE - and she paid it. I love that she paid it. I love that she looked up to me enough not to question the fine. I mean, most kids would be like, "Bite me, it's my book anyway!" But not Niki. She'd paid her fines.

When I was 15, I had the pleasure of being the head coach for Saint Laurence's JV Cheerleading team. My sister Nikole was on my team for two years. For the annual football game called the Turkey Bowl, I choreographed this dang-good half time show, to the tune of Prince's 1999 (didn't 1999 seem like an eternity away in 1982?). I wish video cameras were around back then. Nikole blew my mind. First off, the girl can dance. I'm talking like Beyonce good. You should've seen her...we're gonna party like it's 1999!!

The other thing that makes Nikole special is her combination of spunk and heart. She turns any gathering into a party, has an intelligent wit, fights for who she loves, is as loyal as golden retriever, and as generous as Santa Claus himself.

This is the year I coached her. She's the one right in front of me. And oh yeah, I'm the one with the 80's mullet. Sweet heaven above my hair sucked when I was younger.

Lastly...Christina

Christina is eight years younger than me and I seriously thought she was my own personal babydoll. I used to push her around Acme when I was in 8th grade and pretend she was my child. I really thought people would think she was my kid. How kooky is that? I remember when she was 2, I'd say to my mom, "I can't wait to see what she looks like when she's 5." And then when she was 10, I'd say I couldn't wait to see what she was going to look like as a teenager. And so on and so on. Guess what? She turned out fabulous.

My mom, Christina, my then fiancé/now husband and I all moved to New Smyrna Beach, Florida when Christina was 15. I remember dropping her off at NSB High School on her first day - hair teased, jeans baggy (in honor of it being 1991 and all) and lip gloss as glossy as it could get and she turned to me and said, "Kate, I'm so nervous."

And I said, "Chrissy, you can do this. Just be yourself. You can do this." She did just fine. Despite only living in NSB for a few years she still keeps in touch with the friend she made down there. Christina is the kind of person who you meet and connect with all at once. She's herself with everyone and that's quite appealing. She's there when you need her and generous with her time. Oh, and she's as handy as my father was. She has worked on every room in my house!

She's the peanut up front. And yes, I'm the one with the puff-do in the back. Nice. Real nice.

We lost our dad back in 1997 when he was a fresh 51 and then in 2021, we lost our mom. She was 75. We are literally all we have. It was my sisters and my husband who coaxed me from the deep, dark cave of grief after losing my mom. It got ugly in there and I nearly lost myself. I retreated and didn't even speak to anyone but my husband and sons for a few months (very unlike me, especially being the oldest sister). They gave me the space I requested and let me be. I know that was hard on them. They needed me and I had nothing to give. They loved me enough to let me go through it, by myself. And we haven't looked back since. There is literally nothing that could ever come between us.

Nothing.

My sisters are my three best friends. The kind of friends who get together, a lot, and dance in my living room and hang out long after the Easter ham has been devoured, just to party on. I swear, we danced in my living room like a month ago. Furniture pushed out of the way, lights turned down, music pounding and there we were, me, Meghan, Nikole, and Christina...all dancing.

God, I love my sisters.