Sibling Rivalry

This past year has been a year of emotional growth for me (yes, even at my advanced age.)
Here is a picture of me when I was anywhere from 1 to 3 months old. My sister here is 2 years older than me.
I had to laugh when I saw it in my father's slides. She does not look too happy to have a baby sister.
I amazingly sensed her emotion and put up protection to my face. (Smile)
To be fair to my sister, I can never remember her actually hitting me. 
I always looked up to her and adored her.

I still play with the numbers during my idle time. I was doing that today while I was waiting for something.
I have previously written about the numbers 226 or 622 because these numbers connect me to my father.
What I have never mentioned is the fact that all three of his children had the same due date two years apart.(1955,1957,& 1959)
February 26th was the auspicious day. His first child, my brother, was born early, his second child, my sister, was born late.
His third child, me, was born right on the due date. If you go 9 months back in time you arrive at graduations. 
I never could connect it to an important event in my parents' lives since their wedding anniversary was in early September.
Oh well, all of this is history now.

I am ready to move forward into 2024 with patience and resilience. My daughter's favorite radio station's motto is
"Always encouraging", so my daughter repeats this frequently...echoing the words.
This acts as my constant reminder that we should always give hope, confidence,and courage in our spoken words, 
and we should follow through in all our actions.

The other day when I was at a store doing self check-out I was encountering a few problems. There was a young man
waiting patiently behind me at a respectful distance. I smiled at him and I thanked him for waiting patiently.
He smiled back and responded, "Take your time." His graciousness was greatly appreciated by me.
I would like to pay this forward and work on patience with everyone I encounter in my daily life,
and always be encouraging. This is my biggest goal for 2024.
I do plan to work on other goals...always being patient with myself.