I just figured out this morning that there’s already an official “siblings day” on the calendar and it was last Friday April 10th. Whoops. My girlfriend was quick to point out there’s a day for almost everything these days and proceeded to show me the official “day of the year” calendar spotted with ridiculous days like “national look up at the sun day” and “fancy rat and mouse day”. What the?? The internet is distracting. Back to siblings day, I’m pretty sure Marne and I got in a big fight last Friday and ended our phone call. Abruptly. (sorry Marn. let’s be friends again. please?)
Either way, in the spirit of marching to the beat of our own drum, typical for us, we are making today Siblings Day over here at J&M HQ. And on that note I’m dedicating this entire post to my little sister Marne.
I suppose I could tell you about all the times we’ve battled, bickered and fought and it would make for a colorful and relatable post. Like the great war fought over the last spicy corn nut in our snack bag on the long dusty trip back from a defeating day with our weavers (lot’s of rejected fabric that day. and, for the record, I won that battle and that spicy corn nut tasted so damn good). Or I could tell you about the repeated and heated bickering over who depletes more of our google voice minutes calling our significant others from our office in Guatemala. But I’ll stop myself right here . I’m going to take the higher road and tell you why I love my sister Marne, because I really do:
1. She’s an unbelievable chef. I can’t tell you how many times she’s concocted an award winning meal from what looks to be a tired pile of mauled root veggies, a cup of brown rice, some homemade stock, and a few pinches of mysterious brownish powders (hopefully curries and spices) that she carries around. She’s replenished me many a time after many a bouts with the kind of “travelers sickness” (sparing many details here) you get down in Central America.
2. She’s an amazing painter. We’ll be sampling some new fabric designs and I’ll have a mess of a mood board, a pile of yarns and a vague, far off idea of what color we want to hit and she’ll mix up some paints, bust our her brush and nail it. Boom. To a tee.
3. She’s as cool as a cucumber. She keeps calm and stays focused during all the tough stuff. Whether it’s goods held at customs amidst a delivery deadline that’ll cost us or Guatemalan road blocks that last for hours, she takes it in stride, and to borrow her words, “trusts in the universe”. Marne is her own shaman. If any of you have ever read any Steven Pressfield you’ll know what I’m talking about.
4. She’s a best friend. I went through a divorce this past year, moved 3 times and basically watched my life turned upside down and whenever I’ve needed a boost, a hand, or a calming chat with a wise spirit she’s been there. At the touch of a button. Always.
We’ve been through a whole lot together over the years, especially over the past 4 years building this business together, bit by bit and day by day. What an awesome journey its been. So here’s to Marne! My partner in biz. My partner in crime. She’s my little sister and I love her.
And on that note… I think today is a great day to give your sibling some love. A phone call. A card. A text (lamest option by far). Or a hug if you’re with them. And if you’ve actually read all the way to the end of my sister-love-blog-post I’m going to reward you with a little nugget… use coupon code: loveubro at checkout in our store and get 20% off on all purchases thru 12pm (high noon) on Saturday April 18th. If that sounds too much like a sales plug that’s because it is.
Jed