Which One Do I Love The Most?
I have 5 sisters
5 older sisters
And 0 brothers
What are the odds of that?
Low
But lucky for me
I hit the jackpot
Why?
Because I'm the baby boy
And I have 5 older sisters who love me
So much support
So much security
So much to be thankful for
But when it comes down to it
I'm their only brother
So what does that mean?
It means I'm the brother that they love the most
(By default of course, but I'll take what I can get)
Having 5 smart, successful, and of course, beautiful sisters in my corner gives me a leg up
These are some next level ladies
They're fierce
They're fun
They're family
I would bet on every single one of them
Every single day
And I love them all very much
But while that's all fine and good
The real question is...
Which one of my 5 sisters do I love the most?
This is obviously a very tough decision
No matter which sister I choose
I'll have 4 others VERY mad at me for not choosing them
The stakes are high
So in order to make sure I'm confident with my answer
I'll need to think about each one, run the numbers, and make my choice
Like I said
These ladies are fierce
So if after publishing this article
You don't hear from me again
Just know
I regret nothing
Let's go...
Shirah
Shirah is my oldest sister
She's furthest from me in terms of age
But she's closest to me in terms of proximity
Shirah is cool
She's taken me to some of the best spots in New York City
She's made some of the best Thanksgiving food I've ever eaten
And back in the day
She changed some of my best diapers
She also gives the best hugs
Any day I see Shirah
Is better than a day I don't
She's loving, compassionate, and kindhearted
But on top of that
She's fun
She's fashionable
And she's extremely artistic
I mean
Check out this birthday card she made me...
So cool!
I love this card
Super artistic, right?
Let's open it up...
Very nice message
So sweet!
But it gets better
See what it says inside the star in the top right corner?
'1996'
Shirah made me this card for my birthday
When I turned 3 years old
It's my oldest material possession
And it's something I've held on to throughout my entire life
For as long as I can remember
It's been there for me
Just like Shirah
Kate
Kate is my second oldest sister
When I was younger
Her nickname for me was 'Hooby Scooby Dooby'
And I cried when she left for college
Kate is one of the most caring people I know
She has strong values
She helps those in need
And she stands up for what she believes in
Kate is a natural born leader
She's someone I look to for guidance
Because she's almost always right
So if I tell Kate an idea
And she thinks it's a bad idea...
It's probably a bad idea
Also
Some of my most cherished memories are thanks to Kate
In middle school
During summer and winter vacation
She would let me stay at her apartment in the Bronx
And those are times I will never forget
Throughout the course of my visits
Not only did I spend quality time with my sister
But I experienced the wonders of Halal Guys chicken and rice
And I learned that The Cheesecake Factory
Wasn't actually a cheesecake factory
...
If I'm being honest though
I also brought whoopee cushions on the subway
Stockpiled bootleg DVDs
And snuck into a movie theater...
With a whole apple pie and can of whipped cream down my pants
But she had nothing to do with that stuff
I swear
Nancy
Nancy is my third oldest sister
She's smart
I mean really smart
She's an expert level reader
An expert level writer
And she introduced me to my second favorite author
Jack Kerouac
Also
Thanks to Nancy
I know who Prince is
So not only did she introduce me to good literature
But good music as well
Nancy embodies empathy
She knows when to offer advice
But more importantly
She knows when to listen and let you vent
Being around Nancy is always reassuring
Her presence alone is calming and comforting
She has so many great qualities
But my favorite thing about her
Is that she's a teacher at heart
She takes her knowledge
She takes her wisdom
And she works hard to share it with others
It's people like Nancy who help make the world a better place
Her patience
Her persistence
And her actions
Have inspired me to do the same
(Dr. Seuss is my favorite in case you're still wondering)
Dana
Dana is my fourth oldest sister
She's a free spirit
And out of all my sisters
She has influenced me the most
Growing up
I wanted to be like Dana
I wanted to move to Brooklyn
And live the city lifestyle
Just like her
She's been influential
But she's also been dedicated
The amount of effort Dana has put into creating lasting memories is second to none
And I will always be grateful for how generous she has been to me
Just to name a few things...
She visited me in Spain
She visited me in Binghamton
She took me to Chicago
She took me to California
She let me go with her to Pearl Jam shows
And she even came with me to a Phish show!
The list goes on
On top of her generosity
Dana is also brave
Not only does she have the confidence to go on a cross country road trip by herself
But she also has the guts to get up on stage
Tell a story
And crush
I've seen her do it multiple times
It's not a fluke
She's good
Whatever Dana does
She does it well
Growing up
I wanted to be like Dana
And now that I'm grown up
I still do
Lilith
Lilith is my fifth oldest sister
She's also the sister I've spent the most time with
We lived in the same house for 14 years
We went to the same school for 5
And we sat in the same car with our parents for who knows how long
Lilith is the easiest to be silly with
Which is great
Considering I love being silly
Ever since we were kids
We would tell each other jokes
We would make fun of one another
And we would bet on whether we were having chicken or fish for dinner
We even created a choreographed dance to the Foxwoods casino commercial
We took a chance
We made it happen
(You may or may not get the reference)
As we've gotten older
We've only gotten closer
Lilith is someone I can call to talk to about anything
At any time
She's helped me through a lot
And she's been there for me
Time and time again
I have tons of respect for Lilith
She's a hard worker
And she always has been
That's something I find admirable
A few years ago
She went back to school
She worked her butt off
And now she's a doctor
She's pretty impressive if you ask me
.........
So that's them
That's my 5 sisters
Or short descriptions of them at least
As you can see
They are all wonderful people
And choosing which one I love the most is going to be tough
Do I choose based off of memories?
Generosity?
Birthday cards?
What's the best way to decide?
I guess that's something for me to figure out
Oh boy
I need a minute to think
Wish me luck
...
...
Okay
I've made my decision
Let me just say though
That wasn't easy
There was so much to consider
All of the good times
All of the support
All of the influence
I thought about it all
I thought about each sister
Shirah
Kate
Nancy
Dana
Lilith
I thought about all of their amazing qualities
I thought about all of their amazing accomplishments
And I thought about all of their amazing guidance
I also thought about how each one of them has positively affected my life
I took that information
I ran the numbers
Then I ran them again
The results were close
Very close
But I've made my pick
And the winner is...
Me
...
Much love to all 5 of my awesome sisters
- Harry W. Brodsky