It’s been a hot minute since I did some writing for myself.  I often write in my head…. I compose a fabulous post for social media, work up a magnificent marketing piece for our real estate clients or write up a blog to leave a footprint for which I may circle back one day to walk with my previous self.  Not many of these writings have made it out of my head in the past year and since insomnia seems to be a pretty consistent visitor lately, I thought I’d give my thoughts a “voice” by getting back to letting my thoughts out of my head and on to paper….or typed out.

My intention is to finish what I began a few years ago and pay tribute to so many of the women in my life who have impacted me and changed me for good.  I’ll jump back in with number 25, and tell you about my sister Chelsea Sullivan.

When I sat down a while ago and began to think of this sister, I was a little sad that I have so few memories of us together in the past decade.  With about 12 years in between our ages I realize we have always been at different points in our life and so we have not had as much time together.  What I did discover however, is that it truly has been about the quality of time we have shared together not the quantity. The few times we have been able to spend time together over the years, there has been such an overwhelming feeling of gentle love. I noticed this gentle love has been a characteristic of my sister Chelsea that I have experienced throughout our life as sisters.  The only word I could find to describe this feeling was, angelic….. 

As I sat and pondered this I noticed that in many of the families I have spent intimate and close time with throughout my years, there is one of the kiddos that is the “angel”.  Have you ever sat down and noticed this? It’s a fun little mindfulness task to go through the families you spend time with and notice if there is one person in each family that fulfills this role. I went through all my siblings’ families and found that one of their kids played this role. The calm, gentle peacemaker.

This person shows up and things just seem to calm down with their mere presence.  This person is naturally quiet even though they can join in the fun and get a little wild with the crowd when it goes that way, in general their presence brings a gentle peace.  In my family, this person is my sister Chelsea.  Growing up my brother could rile her up and they would chase each other around the kitchen island, him teasing and her trying to get some retribution.  As I think of her now that she is grown and has her own little flock of wild chitlins, she ALWAYS seems so calm and undisturbed, at least this is my perspective.  Now her kiddos give her a good run for her money and like any mom with three littles under school age (at least this was the age of the first draft of this blog a while ago) they bring the “wild” and you will see my sweet sister trailing behind them with her beautiful smile and delightful laugh.  

With three littles so young, you would think you would hear her complaining about how hard motherhood is, especially since she is a hard working business woman on top of being a mama to all these littles.…. But that’s not her at all.  The few times I’ve been able to spend time with her I see her as the mama that stays cool, calm and collected.  

She loves being a wife and a mother and she is so good at it!  She bakes her kiddos the cutest cakes on their birthdays and they are always having fabulous adventures… right in their backyard.   I love seeing the pictures she shares of all the smiles being experienced in her brood.  

She has also become such a love for her husband’s family as well.  When I have been able to attend a birthday party or celebration I am awed by the connection she has created with her in-laws.  They adore her and I know they can feel her gentle angelic love for them as well.   

Chelsea is so easy to talk to, her gentle demeanor allows for comfortable conversation.  A couple years ago, I stayed at her house with her family.  We stayed up into the wee hours of the night and she just listened to me.  At the time I didn’t think much about it, but when I think back on it now, if ever I were to just sit down with my angels and have a chat with them, heart to heart and soul to soul…..  This is exactly how I imagine it would feel.  I felt seen.  I felt heard.  And I felt total love from this angel I am lucky enough to call my sister.

Chelsea is not only a fabulous wife and mother, she is an incredible professional business woman.  She doesn’t talk much about it but the few small conversations I’ve been able to sneak in a little “business talk”, she is top notch in her company.  What she does is beyond my capacity to understand completely.  From what I understand, she works for a computer software company similar to the Zoom platform, that is international.  She is integral to her team and her customers, I believe she probably gives them the same treatment we all get from her….. All of us are so fortunate to have this angel in our life.  

I am so blessed to have so many fabulous women in my life and I am impacted by everyone of them in so many ways.  My sister Chelsea is my example of being a calm place for others to feel safe.  Just writing this and thinking about her brings a calming sense of peace…. Angels have that effect on people.  Thank you dear sister for being the calm in our family.  You bring such a beautiful balance to the crazy that sometimes accompanies our wild and crazy fun!  I love you dear sister…. Because I’ve known you, I have been changed for good.