On Easter Morning when my little sister was around 3 years old, we woke up, found our Easter baskets and took a picture on the kitchen table. Her blonde curly hair went every which way and gave Albert Einstein a run for his money, but it's still one of my favorite pictures to this day.

When she was younger than that, she shared a queen sized bed with my mom and dad, and when my dad rolled over into her spot in the middle of the night, she woke him up by saying "Hun, you in my pot."

When I was 11 and she was 6, my friends would come over and we would hide in my room giggling, taking pictures on our digital camera, and I would never let my little sister join. Then my mom would yell at me, and make me let her in, "just for a minute."

Now, my little sister is 15 years old. She's the spitting image of our third sister but has my attitude (which may kill my mom this time around). I can't pick on her, because she has me, height-wise, by about 6 inches, and some days she's meaner than me. In just two short years from the time that I left my hometown to go away to college, my kid sister turned from a little girl who used to call herself "Mimi" to a beautiful young woman, who I am more proud of than I will ever be able to put into words.

So Kami, I am writing this to let you know that you turned out pretty cool.

Really cool actually. And I am sorry that I can not be here every day at such a pivotal point in your life, even though I so badly wish I could.

More than anything, I wish I could have been here to watch you, the ONLY freshman to make it as far as you did, throw shot and disc at your final track meet this year.

I wish I could have made it home long enough last Christmas to help you decorate the Christmas tree, so you didn't have to do it alone.

And I wish that I could be here in two weeks when you get your wisdom teeth out, so I could record you and put it on social media and hopefully go viral.

But growing up means leaving home, and leaving you.

When I found out I was going to be a big sister, I was so excited. When our sister found out she was going to be a big sister, she cried. But once you got here, nothing else mattered, because we just loved you so much.

Growing up with a little sister has been the most fun. Being able to watch someone grow up right by your side from the very second that is born is something out of a movie. Being able to laugh with you when you would get caught writing on the walls with sharpie, or when our Dad would try to flip the tube we were in on the boat, or when you came home with that crazy smile in your school pictures three years in a row has always been more fun than any time I could have spent away from you.

I will be the first to admit, I have not always been the best big sister. Having a little sister 5 years younger than you can be tough at times when you want to talk about boys and she wants to play with Barbies. But now that we can talk about boys together, I tell you what, you're better than any friend I've ever had.

So Kami, thank you for being the best, most patient, loving, supportive little sister anyone could ever ask for. You have been a trooper for the past 15 years, sitting through countless swim meets, dealing with my attitude when I was your age, and now holding down the fort while your two big sisters are away at college.

While I'm gone, keep practicing driving, keep your grades up, and make sure mom doesn't eat TOO much ice cream.

I love you.