It’s transition time, and a lot is happening.

One incredibly exciting development is that my sister is moving to New York in two weeks! I’m thrilled for her. It is going to be so awesome.

I take a page from her book all the time – the get-up-and-go, can-do attitude is contagious, and when I’m too tired to find it in myself, I borrow some of hers. She is a great example and teacher of how to be confident and successful, bring out the best in others around her, and be graceful and humble, all at the same time. That’s quite a balance to strike.

She saw what she wanted and made it happen. This weekend, she accepted a new job, found an apartment and gym all by herself, and formulated a plan. She’s selling her car and most of her belongings, packing up a couple of suitcases, and moving to her new place in short order. Just wow.

As may be obvious, I love and look up to my sister. She’s kind of a guru in my life.

I’d like to relate the story of the time I recognized a real shift in our sister relationship. My Mom says that when Amanda was a baby, she sat and watched the toddler Blake zoom around the room from activity to activity, and for most of our childhood, she did much of whatever I did. We had our separate activities along the way, but mostly I called the shots.

I think it was during my senior year of college when our Aunt Nita was coming to visit for Christmas. We had been staying in the guest room of our parents’ house, and as was our style, we had waited until the eleventh hour to get the room presentable for her stay. We knew we wouldn’t get up early enough to do it in the morning, so we started working around midnight. I was so tired and just wanted to go to bed. About half way through, like a whiny child, I fell into the floor and begged that we just go to sleep and deal with it later.

She took one incredulous look at me lying there, put her hand on her hip, and said something to the effect of, “Blake, you get up right now – we’re doing this.” I don’t recall the exact words – but the tone was convincing, motivating, and the teeniest bit threatening. I knew two things: I had no choice, and I liked this new Amanda. That next spring, she got us up at 6 AM every morning to do the workout she planned for us at the rec center. I lost 15 pounds.

Ask me who my hero is. She’s a phenom.

Without sounding too single white female, I want to be just like her when I grow up. I may have missed the boat on having adventurous twenties the way she’s doing it, but maybe she’ll let me watch her go for awhile.

(Update: I swear on everything holy I had not read her post before I posted – we titled it the same thing.)