Celebrating Sandra

It's a gloomy, rainy day at the farmette. Today, we're off to Stratford with the Thorntons. Going for a fancy lunch at Café Bouffon and to see The Hobbit. It's a joint celebration of my sister and my birthdays. Yippee.

We were born two years and eight days apart. She's the youngest of our family of five kids.

She was so small that the nurse didn't believe Mom when she said she was about to deliver. But Audrey, after four births, knew her body, and knew a tiny baby was on the way. She stayed pretty small through her childhood. Our older brothers even fit her into our rural mailbox at one point!

Sandra Marjorie Harris (who became a Thornton) arrived at St. Thomas Elgin General on August 23, 1965. The Marjorie comes from my mom's sister.

From there to here, she's had a long string of accomplishments, a few setbacks and some devastating moments. But she's always bounced back, usually better than before.

She's a straight shooter. She can be tough when the situation warrants but kind when it's needed. And she throws a heck of a party.

Her family always comes first. The humans, Brian, Rachel and Erin are at the centre of her world, followed closely by her four-legged furry kids. I feel ridiculously lucky to be her sister and included in the circle.

She loves to have fun, as in this picture of us on our arrival in Montreal for a girl's weekend a few years back. Leanne (bottom left) has been her friend since public school and Karen (centre) since she worked at Roche. The one on the top right has known her since birth, haha. The four-person selfie was her idea, of course. We had an absolute blast.

We're now both in our 60s, and she can still make me laugh out loud with her sharp sense of humour. Which is the secret to staying healthy and sane, I'd say.

Sandra had a successful career in the pharmaceutical industry and now, she's moving on to a new opportunity with a run for municipal council in the October 26th election.

When I asked her why, she said it's because the people of the community have been so supportive and good to her and the family. She feels grateful for that and wants to help make Grey Highlands even better. She'll be a great councillor. Until next week.

Gratuitous cat photo is a throwback courtesy of Fred and Hobbes, when they could both fit on Rob's chair.

P.S. If you would like to sponsor me for the Home and Community Support Services fundraiser I'm doing, please check this out. Thanks to those who have already contributed. https://secure.e2rm.com/registrant/FundraisingPage.aspx?registrationID=5616523&langPref=en-CA