written by Big Sister Elizabeth

I'm sure every big sister wonders the same thing I did at the start of my match.  What do I really have to offer this little girl?  I didn't have to wait long to find out. 

Morgan was a bright and chatty 7 year old when our match began.  I thought I'd hit the jackpot when we first met.  I mean, who doesn't want to hang out with a kid who makes you laugh, embraces new experiences, and looks at everything in a positive light?  I was sure I was getting more out of the match than she was! 

Her birthday is right around Christmas, so I felt real pressure to get her the "perfect" gifts.  I set to work on my research and discovered a book that was getting a lot of hype... something about a kid called Harry Potter.  Never heard of him.  But, I bought the book and proudly presented it for her birthday.  Now, as bright as Morgan was, she was not a reader.  She watched a lot of tv.  A lot.  So she politely received the book, muttered something about having heard something about it and tucked it away.  Can't win 'em all I thought. 

At our next outing no less than a week later, she was bubbling.  "I read the book!" she exclaimed.  "Twice!"  Over the coming months I think she read is six or seven more times - claiming to love it more with every reading.  Of course, I then had to read it and found that I loved it too.  Harry Potter became an important part of our match.  We've been to book launch parties and seen every movie together.  We even sat in the car at 1 in the morning after the last book was launched, reading the first chapter to each other.  We've shared many things over the years, but nothing like that little wizard. 

I don't think I can take credit for sparking the love of books in Morgan, I'll have to leave that to JK Rowling and her amazing stories.  But, in a relationship from which I get so much, I like to think that I've given her a litte something too.

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