BJ

Some people wake up in the morning and as soon as their feet hit the floor, they are ready to go. My father was like that. He would whistle while he dressed and he just couldn’t understand those who didn’t awaken with the same energy. I had forgotten, but after spending two weeks with BJ, it all came back to me that she had inherited this get-up-and-go-immediately gene.

How anyone can be so cheerful that early is beyond me, but she comes into the room clapping her hands and greeting everyone with a joyful good morning. I would hear something like the following each morning: “Oh! Peggy Wade, it’s another beautiful day! Isn’t this wonderful?” (I don’t know when I’ve been called that!) I would open one of my eyes and look at her like she had just gone completely over the edge. And that was after my first cup of coffee!

Seriously, BJ is one of the most positive people I know. I’m sure it wasn’t easy for her when we were growing up and sharing a room for 9-10 years since she is so neat and I’m the opposite. My idea of cleaning my half of the room was to shove everything under the bed or into the closet. Her clothes were folded neatly into the drawers and HUNG in the closet. Thankfully for her, she was able to have her own room when she was thirteen.

In fact, we are different in many ways, but somehow we complement each other. She is able to cheer me up when I’m discouraged (except in the early morning) because she is so darned upbeat and optimistic. And I understand that because I’m optimistic also and need her to remind me. On the other hand, when she has her head in the clouds sometimes, I can give a gentle pull and put her on more realistic ground.

The two of us were very close growing up. We were close to MA too, but she was just enough older to have other interests than our more childish endeavors. When BJ married and moved to Germany, I really struggled – in fact, I can look back now and realize that I was indeed in trouble emotionally. Thank goodness, it was during this time that I met the genius and that brought me out of my funk.

But back to BJ, she is one of the most spiritual persons I’ve ever known. She truly lives out her Christian faith. She is ALWAYS giving to others – her family, her friends, church members in trouble, the homeless – everyone she comes in contact with. And the giving is from the heart, too, not done out of guilt.

She really brings joy with her wherever she goes, and she has been to many places: Ivory Coast, Kenya, Mexico, the Philippines, somewhere else in South America, I forget where. These have all been on mission trips. And she and Jerry have traveled all over the world. Last summer they RVed to Alaska and back and next fall they plan to visit Switzerland again.

There’s so much more I could say, and probably will later, but for now it is enough to say that I am very grateful to have BJ as an older sister who has always been an excellent role model for others, especially me.

(MA, get ready, your time is coming.)