My sister, Callie, is 31 years old today, so I wanted to write a post just for her.

My mum tells me that I was very excited at the prospect of having a little sister, and that the lullaby “Rock-a-bye Baby” used to make me cry because I thought the new baby was falling out of the tree.  When she was born I knew exactly what name I wanted to give her, but for some reason my parents weren’t enamoured with the idea of calling her Fishandchips…

As a baby learning to talk, Callie also learned a trick that was guaranteed to get me into trouble.  Whenever our parents left us alone for a minute, Callie would throw herself on the floor and start screaming, then when they came running in to investigate, she cried “Nova” so that I would be told off for whatever they thought I was doing to her.  Of course I was innocent and invariably minding my own business playing or watching television at the time, but Callie’s technique was flawless and I was in my teens before my parents finally believed me that I had done nothing!

It was clear from early on that we were going to be very different people, and there were many fights between us over the years.  By fights I don’t just mean arguing and name-calling, I mean kicking, punching, hair-pulling,…

As a teenager Callie started wearing Doc Martens and over-sized checked shirts, and would shut herself in her room for hours on end listening to boisterous rock music at full volume.  We had nothing in common.  However, as time passed, she changed from a teenage rebel to a confident, personable young woman.  She replaced her lumberjack look with a fashionable elegance and proved herself to be quite the style guru.  To this day, Callie is an indispensable companion on any shopping trip as she possesses a kind of sixth sense for which clothes will look good even when they are crammed on rails.  She also has an enviable ability to take one look at the item in the fitting room and say definitively whether or not it’s any good and why.  She has special skills with hair and make-up too and can dress me for any occasion.

Callie became less argumentative and acquired a wisdom that seemed to have appeared from nowhere.  She suddenly became a compassionate, understanding listener, able to offer sound advice on various issues.

Whilst studying for her Maths GCSE exam, Callie found her brain and realised that she actually had one.  She loves to have her “blonde moments” but it’s clear to all who know her that there is a canny intellect working in the background, that can be brought to the fore at any desired moment to catch unaware anybody careless enough to have assumed that the projected dizziness gave the full story.

Now, Callie and I get on together the best that we ever have.  We had a lovely time when she came over to visit in December.  Our week combined doing things like visiting Teide and Siam Park (the Thai-themed water park) with time spent just chilling out in each other’s company.  I hope our other sister, Tsara, will come with her next time as that’s the only way it will be even better.

So I’m sorry I can’t be there for your birthday Callie, or you here.  Milo and I hope you have a fabulous day and hope to see you very soon.  Thank you for being a good friend and a wonderful sister.