Dear Sister,

Daisies always were Mama’s favorite flower.

My sister died last year on the 20th January 2019. She was in a home at the time of her death, and had not been well for some time.

Dear Sis,

Thank you, Big Sister Hannah!

In the winter of twenty-nineteen, I began thinking about Cody. I had recalled those nights not so far from here, where we once lay together. The trees were bare, stretched out behind our window, and the sky was always so blue. While I thought about it, I could smell that air again, like treacle, through our open window, and it had breathed across layers of dust. And your bed- slightly warm against my back, and my hands were always in yours, and you’d nestle in my neck, too,- and your record player would sit on the cabinet beside us, where you would always play such soft music.

Hi my name is Tara & I have a mom & dad & I really wanted a baby brother or sister. I didn't want to be alone in this world of ours.So when my baby brother was born his name is Jason I was so happy. It's Easter weekend mom & dad had taken us to the mall to get our Easter outfits for Sunday church. I was 10 & my brother was 11 months old.

The day my sister Mollie was born she was bought back into the hospital because she was having seizures which they then did tests to try and find out what it was and what the reason was to her having the seizures. She was home within 24 hours and she kept jerking and my mum turned to full parent mode and just thought she was cold so they wrapped her in a blanket then the jerking stopped and that all my parents thought it was. A few minutes later tho, it happened again, and again, and again. But then she kept touching her mouth the exact same way, over and over again, they knew something wasn't right. It was like she was in a time loop where if she did something it would just repeat the exact same way.

Lovely she is in all of her glory. The most incredible of stories. Queen graced with a crown of honor, rich in integrity, drenched in royalty. Her love unmatched, pure in form. She drips GOLD! Her walk is commanding; strides of purpose. Can’t help but gaze. She is peace. Lingers in opulence leaving the sweetest trail. The universe shifts for her. The sun shines for her. Stars dance for her. Her beauty indescribable. Her creator so proud. How blessed we are. Intelligent, witty, loyal, kind, inspiring, lovely she is!

There’s four of us “Koulabdara kids” in my family, two boys and two girls. Growing up, I was always dubbed as “the smart one”, Bay, my older brother, “the artistic one”, Mickey, my younger brother, “the baby” and then there was my older sister, Kay, “the beautiful one”.

Being the oldest of four children, I was ALWAYS made an example of, ALWAYS the first to be disciplined and of course, the first to seem like a disappointment to my parents. Don't get me wrong; I was a straight A student but I had a powerful urge for trouble. 'Sibling Rivalry' was more like a raging war in our house with the four of us in constant competition with one another. But there's ALWAYS the one that 'could do no wrong' and in my family it was my sister Marie.