From Judy

Elizabeth:

Her home attire was jeans rolled half way up her calf, a cotton shirt with the tails out, her saddle or penny loafer shoes.

She had long pigtails.  I don’t know whose decision it was, but Mother cut her hair.  She suddenly became grown up with curly hair. 

I watched her enter stage L, wearing Grandma Wasden’s big hat, a long dark dress, and using a folded parasol as a walking stick.  I was convinced.  She was the Madwoman of Chailott.  She worked so hard to make that happen.

Here’s Elizabeth cutting across the backyard, a book tucked under her arm and headed for the tree house in the willow at Emmie’s.  If I walked behind her quietly, I thought she wouldn’t notice me and let me climb up in the tree with her.  But she would send me back to the house so she could be alone with her book.  Until one magic day she allowed me to go with her.  Sitting in the willow with her was complete big girl satisfaction.

She knew where the majority of books were located in the Powell Public Library.  Visiting frequently helped her to remember. 

When Elizabeth left home for college, I missed her like crazy.  When she came home for Christmas break, she took me to the high school Christmas pageant which was based on the Nativity minus Joseph.  We duly noted that on our way home. The night was freezing cold so we borrowed long johns from Dad to wear to bed.  Attired in such we jumped and bounced all over our bed singing, “Where is Joseph?” and laughing our heads off.  At that point Dad banged on our door and told us to “pipe down” which sent us into more uncontrolled giggles.

She was fun.  “Where is Joseph?”, “Just Knock Three Times and Whisper Low”, “One Night Ma, Pa, and I were sitting in the living room and there came a knock at the door”.  Otherwise known as “Esmerelda”.

She was the one who told me that I needed to read the scriptures.  She was the one that made me say my prayers at night.  And she was the one who made me stay on my own side of the bed.

We will be sisters forever.  And sometimes since Jan 5^th, I feel like she isn’t far away at all.