This one's for you Tiff!

My little sister, Tiffany, has been living with me for the past year. After college, she needed a new place to begin and San Francisco seemed just the place. She spent her year here working as a nanny at first, then at a financial firm. While working days at the financial firm, she took on a part time job during evenings and weekends, as well as babysitting.She's crazy, I know! But she had a goal and she did what it took to make it happen.

Her goal while in SF was to save some money and then go travel again. In college, Tiff spent a semester in Florence and was able to travel to a couple other European countries while there. I visited her in Italy and there are wonderful memories: a wine tasting excursion to the Tuscany region, buying a bottle of wine and drinking it out of plastic cups as we walked along the cobblestone streets, waking up late on a rainy morning and running to catch the train to Rome:-)

After college, Tiff and some friends spent a couple of months in Argentina and Brazil. Her face lights up when she reminisces about the small coastal town where they stayed in Brazil, the hot Brazilian men (you know what I'm talking about-tight red leather pants, black tank top, long, flowing hair), and her moves on the dance floor ("It's not hip hop," she was once told).

During Tiff's year in SF, she thought about where she'd like to travel next, for how long, and what she would do there. One week, she was going to Australia, the next back to Brazil. Finally, she decided on Thailand. She would get her TEFL certification and then teach there for a year. After months of research and almost choosing one program, then another...Tiff finally found the right place-Krabi-a scenic Southern town with lots of activities to do and sights to see.

Tiff left last Thursday to go home for a week and condense all of her belongings into one backpack for the trip. (Try not to tip over in the airport-mom told me about the 25lb. weight at REI!!) And off she goes tomorrow morning on yet another adventure!

There are four years between Tiff and me, so until this past year, we hadn't lived together in eight years. And although I didn't always take advantage of it, I appreciate that we had this year together. After Tiff left last week, I started thinking about all of the things I should have done or said while she was here. But "should" is a word I am trying to take out of my vocabulary. So I figure, although I can't take back time, I can say what I want to say to her:

I admire the woman you have become. You have a dream to see the world and you are taking advantage of this time in life to do that. You are brave and courageous! It takes guts to travel to a foreign land by yourself. You worked hard and have earned this moment (well actually, it's a year you've earned).

A wise woman once told me to keep saying to myself, "It's all happening!" And that all the things I wanted would come to me. Well, now, I say to you, "listen to your own words-it's all happening for you". You are making a dream come true. Of course there will be moments of anxiety and uncertainty, but I have faith in you and know that this trip is going to be an amazing time in your life!