Claire Bear

I have only a few memories around the birth of my little sister, Claire. The one that stands out in my mind, though, is my parents telling us her name. For some reason, it was several days (or at least seemed this way) before they settled on it and I remember them coming in to tell me and Karena. Claire Victoria M--!!! I don't remember having a strong opinion on the name one way or the other, just hearing the announcement.

I'm afraid I wasn't always a very good sister growing up. I took advantage of my 5 year seniority and Claire's admiring willingness. She was my scapegoat, my humble servant, and in spite of all this, my cheerleader. I look back at many of my abuses of power with shame and regret.

I realized much later in life how much of my self-esteem came from having a younger sister who was always fascinated with my every move. She would laugh at my jokes, beg me to tell her stories, participate eagerly in my play schemes and give me her own best possessions if only I asked long enough (abuse of power here).

Somehow, in spite of all my manipulations, Claire having quite enough personality and will of her own, turned into a fairly normal individual. I say fairly normal because for some reason she still likes me and we always get each other's humor and silly jokes.

Claire has the best memory of anyone I know (Ok, you're close Janelle, but it's not your birthday!). Really, she has the ability to remember old quotes, lines from songs and movies, and events with eerie accuracy. It's nice to have your own family historian. You can say, "Remember the time that..." And Claire will fill in the blanks. Andrew would always shake his head and laugh at the weird little details we would remember and revel in from childhood.

Happy Birthday Claire! I love you. Go send your birthday wishes her way over here.



















Without a scanner or natural light, I'm reduced to taking a picture of a picture with a flash! Hopefully you can make out a little. Claire is two, I'm seven.