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my sister turned 5 yesterday. She's my youngest sister, and because shes the youngest and I'm the oldest, she occupies a special space in my heart.

Having sisters keeps me soft. It reminds me of ages/ stages i was once at. I have 4 sis's ages 20, 13, 10 and 5....they are all at different and exciting points in their lives. One minute its middle school drama and the next im talking to a 5 year olds perspective on the world. Charlie, the youngest, she makes me smile. Shes too young to understand that when she announces that im her favorite sister that its rude. But i enjoy it none the less and conviently forget to tell her that its not polite to say u like one family member more than another.

Standing proudly at 3 feet tall, her hair all over her head, she gives me big hugs and small kisses that smell like preschool and dandelions. She runs behind me with little steps(but damn she runs fast) questioning my loyalty when i dont want to go outside and play with her.

"Why?" she wonders, 'what could be more exciting than throwing a red ball back and forth with me'

and i have no response for her.

Whats life like for a 5 year old? I can't really remember. Sometimes she'll ask me about my preschool, tyring hard to relate. But i want to ask, whats life like to have 4 big sisters who have already been where you have? whats it like to see people who can do things like read and write but you havn't quite mastered it yourself? How does it feel to always be behind a few years, never really catching up? Do they hold the secrets of the world?

and the answer of course is no- or maybe yes. I don't know, I'm only the oldest

I only pretend i know