Miss America

That's what we've called her since she was a baby-- Miss America.

My Middle Sister, aka Miss America, is celebrating her fiftieth birthday December 7th, and for the life of me, I simply cannot figure out how that happened! Well, of course I can, but it's hard for me to imagine 50 years has passed since Miss America arrived in our family-- Especially since I don't generally admit to being over 47 years old myself. Which, considering I'm 20 months older is, well, nothing short of "new math". Ha!

A family friend dubbed her Miss America the moment he saw her as a baby and sings the song every time he sees her even to this day. She was a stunningly beautiful child-- Beautiful blond hair with curls down her back. And today, fifty years later, she's still stunning on the outside AND the inside as well.

Middle Sister is the Mom to this guy who's nearly 21 years old now. He came home from hospital after he was born wrapped in this stocking a few days before Christmas. He's a sweetheart of a kid. Hard to imagine she has a son who's nearly "legal" now. Sheesh.

More kids than her son have been touched by her beauty and kindness. Middle Sis is an special education teacher with the patience of a saint. She's the teacher all the moms want their kids to have in school.

Middle Sis volunteers a tremendous amount in her community including training Service/Therapy Dogs at her home. This year, she made arrangements with the school to bring her current dog to work with her one week per month. The dog, named Vinny, is a labrador-poodle mix that has a huge, positive effect on the kids and makes classroom time far more productive and enjoyable for them. Middle Sister knew it would and went out of her way to make it happen. It's been life changing for some of the students.

Middle Sis also taught Vinny how to remove clothes from the dryer one piece at a time-- a little volunteer perk that will help his eventual owner enormously. If she can teach a dog how to fold and put the clothes away, her title will go from Miss America to Miss Universe in my book!

In the past fifty years, Middle Sister has been the very generous "go-to" person in our family for countless favors ranging from school car pooling to helping pack and move houses and apartments more times than any of us can remember. She's also the Auntie at ALL the after school concerts and activities driving near and far to attend.

And make no mistake, Middle Sister the Queen of Concert-going--

Especially if this guy is playing. It's country singer Keith Urban and she's totally crushing on him. I made this picture especially large as a little 50th birthday present for her.

Middle Sis is the voice of sibling reason who always offers a shoulder to cry on or a sympathetic ear to vent to. But the things I love most about her are, her smile and grace that light up a room, her sense of humor that will have you falling on the floor with a perfectly timed roll of the eyes, and her heart-- It's bigger than you could ever imagine.

Yep, she's our family's very own Miss America and today she's fifty. But, she's not thrilled about turning fifty anymore than I was so I'm trying to ease her into it.

Hey Sis, repeat after me-- 50, 50, 50, 50, 50 and FABULOUS!

Happy Fifth Birthday Middle Sister. I love you!

Do you have nicknames for your siblings?

Welcome to The Fifty Factor - Joanna