5

5

I thought it was about time I did a blog about my sisters.  I am lucky enough to have 5 of them!  I will take you through them from oldest to youngest.  But along with my parents and Anissa, they are my rocks.  You will see I have different relationships with each of them.  But they are my best friends and life would be so boring and meaningless without them.

Carolyn is the oldest and she’s about 4 years older than me.  Carolyn had the unfortunate responsibility of figuring everything out for the first time whereas I always had my 3 older siblings to test the waters before I dove into anything.  I’ve always been in awe of Carolyn’s artistic abilities.  By that I mean her musical talent (which impresses me more every time I get to hear her sing), her creative process, and her uncanny ability to give the most thoughtful, beautiful gifts (she makes me look like a chump at Christmas).  I also really admire her persistence.  She’s always exploring, always trying to get better at what she does, and I’m pretty sure she never sleeps.  She juggles so many things like balancing her relationships with others, fostering a thriving career, finding personal growth in her hobbies, and giving back to the community.  Whenever I feel overwhelmed I think about what Carolyn is able to accomplish and in doing so I find the strength I need to forge ahead.

Aileen is the next oldest at 3 years older than me.  Aileen and I were pals from a very young age.  We had secret clubs and at the tender age of 6 she taught me how to find opportunities to profit in the marketplace.  Aileen, like Carolyn, has great drive.  When you dig deeper you also find a great amount of passion that fuels everything she does.  When Aileen is on your side, you cannot be stopped (and if she’s not, then watch out!).  One memory I have with Aileen that I will never forget is when I was in Scottsdale, AZ with her.  She was out there for an extended period of time on a personal trip and I went out for a long weekend to keep her company.  We wined and dined ourselves and just relaxed.  It was a great time for us to just have nice, long conversations.  In our adult lives Aileen and I have come to have more and more deep conversations covering topics like why are we here, what am I doing with my life, or how do I make sense of what is going on around me.  She’s a great sounding board and I can always count on her to give me the time of day.

Maureen is the next oldest and closest in age to me.  She is 1.5 years older, but she was always 2 grade level s above me (over-achiever!).  In our younger years, Maureen and I fought a lot.  Given our proximity in age we had a lot of similar friends and that always created tension.  But after high school I went to Miami University where Maureen also went.  Although she was abroad for 3 of the months, we did have 2 years together at Miami.  Let me tell you, that was a blast.  Maureen just took me under her wing.  As I mentioned above, it was always great to have siblings ahead of me to figure it all out so I could get it right.  This was definitely true at Miami, and even after graduation (we are both CPAs).  I actually lived with Maureen for a while after I graduated and this just brought us closer.  Given our educations and professional similarities Maureen and I have a lot to chat about.  Sometimes I feel bad when others are around us because we just go spinning on our own tangents!  Maureen is great at giving advice and her heart is always in the right place.

I am the fourth child in the family.  The next sibling is Amy who is 3.5 years younger than me.  Growing up there was always separation between “the four big kids” and the 2 younger siblings including Amy.  Amy and I were rarely in the same school at the same time and therefore had very few similar friends.  Amy is also incredibly talented musically (I lost count of how many instruments she played in high school, but she excelled at them all).  She teaches special education now and I just think it’s the perfect fit for her.  Amy has always been someone who thinks with her heart first.  While that can be dangerous at times, it’s a really admirable quality that I think we can all learn from.  Sometimes in the moment I criticize her for what she says or does, and then reflect on it later realizing I actually agree with her.  I am very excited to see what Amy will do in this world because her heart is so big.

The “baby” of the family is Laura who is 5 years younger than me.  It’s hilarious that she is the baby because she might actually be the most mature person in our family (maybe it’s the outcome of learning from the mistakes of 5 other siblings!).  In her youth we always teased her for being lazy and a complainer.  Sometimes we thought she was complacent and unorganized.  Then she went to school at Loyola in Chicago and she really seemed to pull herself together quickly while there.  She’s now started her career teaching just outside Chicago and she loves what she does.  Every time I talk to Laura I am impressed with her poise and pragmatism.  I often forget she’s not my age or older.  Whatever guy she ends up with will certainly be one lucky dude!

These descriptions really cannot do justice to who these ladies are, but it gives you some insight.  Of course I left out some rough moments but everything that has happened brought us to today, and that is a good thing.  I love when people ask if I have any siblings because I just can’t wait to tell people about my 5 sisters.  As the end of the year approaches and I reflect on my life I realize that I just might be the luckiest guy in the world.  People always have a reaction when I tell them I have 5 sisters and I often joke that they can have a couple if they don’t have any sisters.  But the truth is, I wouldn’t trade any of them for anything in this world.

 

Okay, enough gushing, Kent out.

1992 at Disney World

Left to Right:  Amy, Me, Carolyn, Laura, Aileen, Maureen

 

2011 at my cousin's wedding in Boston

Left to Right:  Me, Carolyn, Laura, Aileen, Maureen, Amy