There’s a picture of us. The photograph’s edges are crisp, with a slight crease in the bottom left hand corner. Deceivingly, the picture seems to be taken yesterday. But we know better. We’re sitting on my back porch, me on the second step down, you sitting one step down from me. We’re eating popsicles, and my knees are bent up toward my chest, and even with your shoulders. I’ve always been the taller one, even though you’re exactly 30 days older than me. You can see the bruises on my legs, filled with memories from our latest adventures on our bike rides, roller-skates and scooters. Your eyes are crinkled in a smile, oblivious to all the mishaps and trouble we always got into. We were sisters then, and still are today.

Do you remember this day?

Earlier on my mom had taken us swimming at the lake, and we splashed and swam in the shallow water, the sunlight sparkling on the water like diamonds, mimicking the fake jeweled barrettes we would put in our hair. You would never swim out as far into the lake as I did, and because I didn’t want to leave you alone, we never swam farther out than you wanted to. You were always more daring, more flamboyant than me; but not when it came to swimming. Somehow an anonymous fear overcame you when it came to mysterious deep waters. Yet in the picture you can see the dark sheen of our hair, reminiscent of the water. When we returned to my house, we proceeded to run then slide down on our skinny bellies on the bright canary yellow slip and slide in my backyard. We always made sure that as soon as one adventure ended, another began. Later on that day our stomachs began to rumble, and we indulged in the summertime treat of the popsicle.

Do you remember this day?

You loved strawberry popsicles almost as much as I loved fudgesicles. Your face is filled with content, while I am slightly wincing because of a brain freeze. You’re wearing my tee shirt, the blue tie dye one. You were always jealous of my kick ass tie dye tee shirts, and when I let you wear it after we changed out of our bathing suits, it made you so happy. You were always happy anyways, but somehow the little things seemed to make your day even brighter.

Do you remember this day?

We go to one of our favorite spots; my back porch. Me on the second step down, you on the step below me. Sometimes we would bicker about who was higher up than the other, or got more lemonade in their cup. But today, using some unknown and unspoken communication, we know this is how things go. We know that somehow throughout the years my hair will almost always be longer than yours, no matter how many haircuts I get. We know that although we would constantly fight over who gets more juice, we secretly loved getting to carefully pour the juice out, our eyes level with the counter, not missing one milliliter. We know that I’ll always be the taller one, and you the older one. We know that I’ll never be truly above you, or you below me, but that you’ll be with me, and I with you. We both know how good of a day this is, even though neither of us say so; we both just know. Yet somehow we also know that tomorrow will be even better.

Do you remember this day?