Skype and my Sister

Since I'm pretty sure I am usually just about the last person on the planet to know about new technologies or programs or fun things, I don't think it would be a stretch that everyone now reading this has already heard of or actually used Skype. If by some bizarre chance you have not heard of Skype, let me enlighten you. (Well, I really can't enlighten you too much because I just started using it and am still a novice... and as with all things technological, I will continue to be a novice for the rest of my days. It's sad but true. But I am ok with it. Really. I am. No seriously, I am.)

Anyway, (here's a random fact: one of my biggest pet peeves is people who say or write Anyways. There's no S in anyway! Anyways is not a word!)

So...

Anyway, Skype is this great invention where you can connect with all of your family and friends and work associates and acquaintances (well those who have downloaded Skype) FOR FREE online. You can IM with them. You can make phone calls using your computer and you can even make video phone calls over the computer through Skype FOR FREE. It's amazing. It's ingenious. I wish I'd thought of it.

At this point you're probably wondering where my sister fits in with all of this. You might not be wondering that, but if you are keep reading. Back in March I went on a two week trip to my hometown in California with Audrey to see my sister and her husband and my parents. It was a great two weeks. I threw a very cool gravy pitcher on my dad's pottery wheel, we went to the coast (as any Northern Californian knows it is not the beach, it is the coast), we drove around, I ate at my favorite places (The Mutt Hut, Oharu's, Jaws, and Super Taco more than once... Thai Cafe: I'll get you next time!). But mostly, I just spent time with my sister, Megan. And that was really the whole point. Let me tell you something about my sister. If I were allowed to have a favorite person, she would be it. Wait, why can't I have a favorite person? I can? Okay. She is my favorite person. In the world. Ever. Period. Amen.

This was not always the case. We are two years apart and when we were little we were always around each other, which was sometimes a good thing:



and sometimes, not so much:



Our relationship was pretty turbulent. We fought a lot. We laughed a lot. We gave each other crusties a lot. We shared a room until I was 15. For any two girls that have shared a room during their formative childhood and teenage years, this should be enough said. Am I right? So, through no fault of our own (ha!) we sometimes struggled to get along. But then Megan graduated high school and left for college. And I forgot all of the fights, the drama, the pettiness... and I really missed her.

Since my sister first left home, I've spent most of my time missing her and wishing that we lived closer together. It used to be that I was in California and she was in Utah. Then I moved to Utah to hang out with her for a summer... during which time I grew to kinda like Utah (unbelievable! unthinkable! almost blasphemous!) and decided to stay a little longer... during which time I started to date this guy named Adam and decided to stay a little longer... during which time I became engaged to Adam and decided to stay a little longer... during which time I got married to Adam and decided to stay a little longer... and now here I am still in Utah eight years later when I was only intending to hang out with my sister for a summer. And the cruelest part about it is after I moved here to be with her, and we both got married in the summer of 2002, she and her husband decided to move to Oregon! And then after a while, they moved to California. So now she's in California and I'm in Utah. And I continue to miss her ALL THE TIME. Especially now that I'm a little older and I realize what a blessing she is in my life. She is more than my sister. She is my best friend. And to have the two rolled into one? That's just awesome.

So, back to my visit this past March... (holy tangent!) when I got back from Utah I was seriously having Megan withdrawals. A few days after returning home it was my birthday and Megan sent me an email with a recipe for a "perfect chocolate cake" and said that she would make it for me if she were here... so we decided that we would make it together... over Skype. So a few days later we did a video call over Skype and baked the "perfect chocolate cake" together - me in my kitchen in Utah and she in her kitchen in California! And it really felt like we were together. We talked, we laughed, we baked, and we bonded. It was awesome. Since then, we've tried to bake or cook something about once a week over Skype. We trade off picking a recipe, and we synchronize our watches... and we talk and laugh and sometimes cry over Skype while we make some glorious treat or savory entree. And it almost feels like we live closer. And it almost feels like she's not so far away. Almost.

The point of all of this?
I love my sister. I love Skype. You should try it. It just might change your life.