SISTERS

"Today I am grateful for my sisters. I am so proud of my two little sisters and the women they have become. There are a few, rare moments in each person's life that you save in your mind as very precious moments. These are moments that when you think back on them, you immediately begin to get choked up and emotional. A lot of the precious moments I have had in life involve my sisters. When I was 16 my Mom, McKinli, and Matti decided to run a 5k together. Being the lazy teenager I was, I decided to be "cool" and not run the race, and drive the car down to where the finish line was to wait for my mom and sisters to cross the line. After a short time I saw my Mom and McKinli running towards the finish line together. But Matti was no where in sight. When McKinli and my Mom finally crossed the finish line I asked them what had happened to Matti? They said she had fallen behind and would catch up quickly. Matti couldn't have been more than 9 years old at the time. One by one the runners crossed the finish line and still no Matti. Finally we saw a police officer in his cop car following behind the second to the last runner of the race... Matti. She was running all alone and hadn't given up. As she crossed the finish line out of breath and exhausted, she flung into my Mother's arms and started sobbing. She had finished the race. I immediately began to get choked up and could not control my emotions. This day and this race taught me a very valuable lesson. Me, my Mom, and my sisters were all each other had at that time. We needed to stick together and make sure that each of us finished the race in life. We needed to encourage each other, support each other, and cheer each other on. That is one moment in my life I will never forget about my sisters.

Another experience is when my little sister McKinli was trying out for the Bonneville High school cheerleading squad. She decided probably a month before try outs that she wanted to make the team. She didn't have much experience in tumbling or cheering, and to be honest, was really the shy type. I couldn't imagine her being a cheerleader, screaming at the top of her lungs at high school prep rallys. But she was determined to make the team. She practiced her heart out each week and finally the day of try outs came. My mom, Matti, and I waited patiently outside of Bonneville for the tryouts to get over. We had no idea whether or not she had made the team. When the girls were finally able to leave, they came bursting out the doors. Some girls were crying, others were jumping with joy. When we finally spotted McKinli, she looked like she was ready to burst into tears. She came right towards us and as best she could, told us she hadn't opened the letter that indicated whether or not she had made it. She didn't think she had done well and for sure thought the letter would be declining. She said she wanted to open it once we got back to the car. So we all hung our heads low, not really knowing what to say to her. As we started walking back towards the car, McKinli started to open her letter without us knowing. All of a sudden, she stopped in her tracks and screamed, "I made it!" and starting crying so hard! We all started jumping up and down and hugging her like crazy. There have only been a few rare occasions where I have seen McKinli cry in her whole life, and this was one of them. I was so proud of her that she had worked so hard, was determined, and made a dream of hers come true.

I am so thankful for my little sisters and the examples they are to me. They have given me some wonderful precious moments that I can savor forever. I am so glad to have the privilege of calling McKinli and Mattisyn my "sisters." -Whitni