To avoid the death of many needed brain cells, which would certainly follow if I try to be eloquent, I'm going to resort to the old-fashoined kindergarten trick.
O is for Organized. I don't think I need to say much about this one. I mean, I'm kind of anal myself, but I'm nowhere near as organized as Olivia. She's always coming up with ways to be more organized. I think her biggest accomplishment was organizing the bee lab. You may not realize what a feat this was, but let's just say it's like climbing Mount Everest in nothing but socks and a bathing suit.
L is for Loving. I think loving encompasses what I want to say here. It sounds kind of trite, and certainly if I were Olivia I could come up with a better word, but it works. She is loving in the general sense of the word, but specifically, she is the most forgiving person in the world. If you ever want to do wrong to somebody with no consequences...wait, I don't want anyone to get any ideas here. I have given up on people in my life. Olivia has never given up on anyone in her life. Not anyone. I use her as my inspiration when dealing with people that I would like to punch in the face--I just ask myself "What would Olivia do"? The answer is nearly always smile and be patient. It works most of the time, but I still have limits that apparently don't exist in Olivia's world. Flashback to China when we were being bamboozled by a bamboo rafting cartel. Sus nearly punched someone. If Olivia hadn't been there she certainly would have.
I is for Intelligent. Olivia has an insatiable curiosity about everything. It started when she was very small. I remember laying on the top bunk bed at night, drifting off to sleep only to be interrupted by Olivia (who apparently had no need of sleep, even then) saying "What should I think about next"? I would always irritatedly reply "I don't know" and then follow up with a randomly chosen object like "magnets". I never asked her what in god's name she was thinking about magnets, for fear I would never get to sleep, but apparently there was a lot of stuff to think about. Some things were more thought worthy than others and every now and then I would hit on something that would occupy her mind for a whole 5 minutes (something like the Theory of Relativity), plenty of time for me to drift to sleep so that I could safely ignore her next inquiry. Even now, when we chat on the phone, she is inevitably asking questions, trying to explain some phenomenon she recently witnessed or read about in an article. I have to embarrassedly admit that if it weren't for Olivia, I would probably never even consider half the things I have.
V is for Valiant. Courageous and determined. Definitely Olivia. Determined in everything she does whether it be hiking or finishing her Master's degree. I recall some people questioned whether she would finish the latter, but I knew. I knew that there was no way in hell Olivia would let a silly piece of paper defeat her. Although there was that one time that she threw out her back while reaching for a piece of paper... Anyway, and courageous too. My mom and dad bought her a key chain that said "Steal my keys and I'll kick you in the balls" because when she was in grade school some older boys on the bus were harassing her. I don't actually recall if she had to kick them in the balls or not because I don't have the memory of an elephant like Olivia does, but I'm pretty sure she did. She's a tough cookie when it comes to fighting--I have the scars to prove it. Olivia is most courageous when it comes to defending people she loves. I remember one time walking home from elementary school with her and stopping to do a cherry drop on the playground. Some kids were making fun of me for some reason or other. Boy were they sorry they did that!
I is for Irresistible. Olivia is the one with the irresistible smile and laugh that are always a mere nano-second from rising to the surface and occasion. I say irresistible, for those of you unlucky enough not to have experienced them in person, because they are contagious. More contagious than any disease I've ever heard of. But maybe that's not a great comparison because smiles and laughs don't kill people. Anyway, the point is, that whenever Olivia smiles and laughs, other smiles and laughs are soon to follow. Even the grumpiest grump wouldn't be able to resist smiling when Olivia is happy. That's why she always has about 10 men fawning over her at any given time. Granted, some of them have been more annoying than others (I won't name names), but that's what happens when you're irresistible.
A is for Athletic. I know she may disagree with me, because she's always certain she can do better, but honest to god, Olivia has the most endurance of anybody I have ever met. Have you ever gone for a hike with Olivia? When Olivia hikes, she's not farting around (to use a phrase I inherited from my dad). She'll hike at a running pace (seriously, I know people that can't run as fast as she hikes) without breaking a sweat, often carrying a 150 lb pack. And she can go for miles and miles and miles. I never admit it to her, but when I hike with Olivia I'm often right at my limit.
So, Happy Birthday to the best older sister in the world.
3 comments:
You had me laughing til I cried. Thanks for the 'eloquently written' memories. You've made my day.
Love you sus.
Kindergarten trick or no, your eloquence was delightful. I think you did a great job of describing Liv. By the way, the picture with I for Intelligent--I've never seen a helmet like that before! And the part about the keys...? Well the kick wasn't delivered by her foot, but her clarinet case served as a good substitute.
Yes, Happy Birthday, Liv.
That was great, Olivia to a T! You are one lucky sister.
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