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I felt like posting this. It's a letter from one of the 11 miners that died written to his family.

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My Sister, My Friend

My sister, my friend, half of my heart and half of who I am…

 I can imagine myself as a two year old and my mom telling me that I was going to have a baby sister to play with. I did not really understand. I noticed my mom’s tummy growing bigger and bigger. She would tell me, “that’s your baby sister in there!” I would pat her tummy and lay my head on her belly and talk to her. I hope that even before she was born she heard my voice and some how knew who I was when she finally saw me for the first time.

I cannot even remember the time before my sister. What I do remember is wanting to protect her. I know that as we were growing up, when she was in trouble I would cry with her. I still do. We played together and sometimes suffered together.

 I accidentally slammed her fingers in the car door one time. I wanted to ride in the front seat so I jumped in the car before her and slammed the door behind me. It was pouring down rain. She was crying and I thought it was because she did not get the front first. To this day I feel like an ass about that. I know I was just a little kid but the guilt is still there. I never wanted to see her suffer.

 We were typical siblings, so yes we would fight and most of the time it was minor. I hit her over the head with a soft doll one time and its head fell off. We both cried because I “killed” the baby. I said I was sorry and we put the baby back together again and we held each other.

 We both suffered at the hands of our first step father. He did unimaginable things to us. If I had known that he was hurting her I would not have kept my silence for so long. I thought that it was just me and that was ok as long as he was not hurting her or my mom. When I was a teen I found out that he was abusing her as well and that is the first time I was truly angry at him. I thought I had protected her but I knew I had failed. It’s a good thing he was long gone by then… for his sake.

 We used to sleep together. We had our own beds but when we were scared or just lonely we would cuddle. We would scratch each others backs until we fell asleep. I loved those times. We made games out of just about everything we did, even folding laundry. I still cherish the memory of hearing her call my sissy.

 Time passed and we were in high school. I had my boyfriend and friends and she had hers. She was rebellious and skipped school a lot. She was having a hard time at home and it was always a constant fight. I seemed to be stuck in the middle. She ran away from home numerous times. I would talk to my mother and sympathize with her because she did not know what else to do. I would lie in bed and hope that she was ok. She did not listen to me or our parents. She only listened to her friends and did what she wanted. I was 17 when she showed up at school with her head half shaved. I did not even recognize her at first. She dropped out of school not long after that. I believe she thought we had failed her.

  I was afraid that she would end up dead somewhere. I truly missed my little sister. I saw her and wondered where she had gone and what had changed her from that sweet little girl that looked up to me.

Time passed and things changed as they eventually do. I was in love and she was pregnant. Her little girl changed her life for the better. She got her GED and went to school to become a travel agent. She got out of this town.

 Later she got married and had another daughter.  They built a house and she was a stay at home mom. To everyone else on the outside they appeared to be the perfect family. Unfortunately, he was not Prince Charming. They eventually divorced. I was there for her when she would let me be.

 My sister is a single mom, a full time student in the medical field, and my best friend. I would do just about anything to take away the pain that she has suffered. Her heart is still broken and even though I am her big sister and I am supposed to protect her I feel like I have let her down.

  I am so proud of her. She is a wonderful mother, a straight A student, and as beautiful on the outside as she is on the inside. I admire her strength when times a hard. She deserves a good life. She deserves to be happy. I don’t think she knows that.

How do I convince her?

My sister, my friend, half of my heart and half of who I am…I love you and
I could not imagine a world with out you in it. Have faith in yourself, you are truly beautiful!

I was required to have a psych evaluation recently for my upcoming surgery. While I was there I was asked to take a personality test.

It was called the Keirsey Temperament and Personality Profile. I am posting the results. If you are interested in taking the same test you can visit www.advisorteam.com. The first parts of the results are free, while you must purchase the finer details for $14.95. It is worth it!

Have fun!

Jennifer

I am an Idealist – Champion.

All Idealists^™ (NFs) share the following core characteristics:

·         Idealists are enthusiastic, they trust their intuition, yearn for romance, and seek their true self, prize meaningful relationships, and dream of attaining wisdom.

·         Idealists pride themselves on being loving, kindhearted, and authentic.

·         Idealists tend to be giving, trusting, spiritual, and they are focused on personal journeys and human potentials. 

·         Idealists make intense mates, nurturing parents, and inspirational leaders.

Idealists^™, as a temperament, are passionately concerned with personal growth and development. Idealists strive to discover who they are and how they can become their best possible self--always this quest for self-knowledge and self-improvement drives their imagination. And they want to help others make the journey. Idealists are naturally drawn to working with people, and whether in education or counseling, in social services or personnel work, in journalism or the ministry, they are gifted at helping others find their way in life, often inspiring them to grow as individuals and to fulfill their potentials.

Idealists are sure that friendly cooperation is the best way for people to achieve their goals. Conflict and confrontation upset them because they seem to put up angry barriers between people. Idealists dream of creating harmonious, even caring personal relations, and they have a unique talent for helping people get along with each other and work together for the good of all. Such interpersonal harmony might be a romantic ideal, but then Idealists are incurable romantics who prefer to focus on what might be, rather than what is. The real, practical world is only a starting place for Idealists; they believe that life is filled with possibilities waiting to be realized, rich with meanings calling out to be understood. This idea of a mystical or spiritual dimension to life, the "not visible" or the "not yet" that can only be known through intuition or by a leap of faith, is far more important to Idealists than the world of material things.

Highly ethical in their actions, Idealists hold themselves to a strict standard of personal integrity. They must be true to themselves and to others, and they can be quite hard on themselves when they are dishonest, or when they are false or insincere. More often, however, Idealists are the very soul of kindness. Particularly in their personal relationships, Idealists are without question filled with love and good will. They believe in giving of themselves to help others; they cherish a few warm, sensitive friendships; they strive for a special rapport with their children; and in marriage they wish to find a "soul mate," someone with whom they can bond emotionally and spiritually, sharing their deepest feelings and their complex inner worlds.

Idealists are rare, making up no more than 25 to 30 percent of the population. But their ability to inspire people with their enthusiasm and their idealism has given them influence far beyond their numbers.

The four types of Idealists^™ are:

Healers | Counselors | Champions | Teachers

Like the other Idealists, Champions are rather rare, say two or three percent of the population, but even more than the others they consider intense emotional experiences as being vital to a full life. Champions have a wide range and variety of emotions, and a great passion for novelty. They see life as an exciting drama, pregnant with possibilities for both good and evil, and they want to experience all the meaningful events and fascinating people in the world. The most outgoing of the Idealists, Champions often can't wait to tell others of their extraordinary experiences. Champions can be tireless in talking with others, like fountains that bubble and splash, spilling over their own words to get it all out. And usually this is not simple storytelling; Champions often speak (or write) in the hope of revealing some truth about human experience, or of motivating others with their powerful convictions. Their strong drive to speak out on issues and events, along with their boundless enthusiasm and natural talent with language, makes them the most vivacious and inspiring of all the types.

Fiercely individualistic, Champions strive toward a kind of personal authenticity, and this intention always to be themselves is usually quite attractive to others. At the same time, Champions have outstanding intuitive powers and can tell what is going on inside of others, reading hidden emotions and giving special significance to words or actions. In fact, Champions are constantly scanning the social environment, and no intriguing character or silent motive is likely to escape their attention. Far more than the other Idealists, Champions are keen and probing observers of the people around them, and are capable of intense concentration on another individual. Their attention is rarely passive or casual. On the contrary, Champions tend to be extra sensitive and alert, always ready for emergencies, always on the lookout for what's possible.

Champions are good with people and usually have a wide range of personal relationships. They are warm and full of energy with their friends. They are likable and at ease with colleagues, and handle their employees or students with great skill. They are good in public and on the telephone, and are so spontaneous and dramatic that others love to be in their company. Champions are positive, exuberant people, and often their confidence in the goodness of life and of human nature makes good things happen.