This week I am grateful for my sister, Stephanie Bradshaw. Her birthday was last week, and this post was supposed to occur then, but as you clearly can see, planning ahead is not my strong suit.
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teph and I grew up in an unconventional family system. As you may know (or not know), we are technically only half-sisters. Not that that has ever really mattered to us, it just means that we had different dads. It never meant that we were any sort of “second rate sisters” or whatever. She grew up with my grandparents in their home with my brother, while I grew up at home with my mom and dad (her mom also, just so we’re clear). I honestly think that’s probably why we get along so well, because we never really had to compete for attention. And I’m sure that 8.5 year (to be exact. I was her half-brithday present) age gap helps in that as well, that meant we were never trying to share friends or make-up or clothing, so there was really nothing to fight about.
I can remember being probably about 6th grade aged and it was the beginning of the school year and my parents didn’t have the money to take me new clothes shopping, and as far as I was concerned that was the end of the world. Because what kind of girls shows up to the first day of school in something she wore to school last year? But Steph took me shopping with her own money and bought me at least two new outfits (one of them included Mary-Kate and Ashley brand electric blue plaid pants). And it was then that I knew I wanted to be like hr when I grew up. Steph is kind, and funny (sometimes the two are mutually exclusive). She thinks of others. She’s a thoughtful, creative writer. And I’m proud that she is my sister. 
These days we’re best friends because that 8.5 years didn’t matter so much once we both because adults. Though she does still feed me on occasion because as an adult mother she cooks dinner every night, and as an adult with just a dog I don’t always cook dinner (read: pretty much never).
We like to go to concerts together (namely Taylor Swift, we’ve seen her every time she’s come to the Sprint Center) and we like to go shopping…well I like to go shopping, she probably wouldn’t agree so much on that one. What we can agree on is Cici’s Pizza, we would both eat there literally every day if given the chance.
Love you, Steph! Happy GratiTuesday!
(Lucky for everyone I’m such a poor planner that I couldn’t find any photos of us as children. I did com across this one from her wedding though! So rejoice, sister! Also you can thank our mother who pretty much took zero photos during my childhood.)
momentswithmisty.com 