Happy 21st birthday to my beautiful, intelligent and talented sister, Jamie!

As my little sister celebrates her birthday this week (and OH, are we celebrating), I wanted to write something special just for her, here on the blog.

Because you see, Jamie isn’t just my sister…she’s my best friend and one of the most important people in my life. I feel so incredibly lucky to have been blessed with a little sister and in honor of her special day, here are 21 both serious and silly definitions of what it means to be a sister.

A sister is…

1. A built-in best friend. Not only do I have a sister, I have a friend for life. No need to worry about who will be my maid of honor at my wedding or who will be my first child’s godmother; life has thankfully already built that special person into my life, and it’s my little sister. I couldn’t be more grateful.

2. An ally, for life. Whether we’re standing up against our mom telling us our dresses are too short (I swear, mom…that’s how dresses are made these days!) or lamenting a sticky situation no matter the topic, I know Jamie will always have my back and take my side. It’s us against the world.

3. A personal stylist. Double the closet space and double the amount of shoes. What could be better? Jamie has an amazing fashion sense and lately, I’ve even been letting her dress me (see: Fourth of July outfit) so I definitely reap the benefits of having a stylish sister.

4. A sounding board. If I ever need advice, need to vent or just need to share a story, Jamie is always there to listen, commiserate or celebrate. She’s that one person I know I can always go to for an unbiased opinion. Well, maybe not completely unbiased…she does, after all, take my side quite a lot. But she also provides lots of solid advice and guidance, just like a sister should.

5. An on-demand editor (and blog title genius extraordinaire). When I need a blog post or e-newsletter proofread, the first person I send my work to is my sister. Not only is she extremely intelligent, but she’s super creative and always makes me think of things in new ways. And when I’m at a total loss for a clever blog title, Jamie always comes through with something amazing.

6. A person who understands, encourages and enables my John Mayer obsession. When I learned John Mayer was coming to Philadelphia a few weeks ago, my sister was right there next to me plotting ways to get tickets to get up close and personal. And when we landed tickets to a private concert? Jamie and I rocked out in the third row and shared the most epic of experiences.

7. Someone to drink wine with on a Friday night. You know those nights when you feel too lazy to put on clothes and go out? When you have a sister, you can stay home in your pajamas, drink wine and still feel like you had a perfectly social weekend. Be jealous.

8. Someone to send silly Snapchat’s to on the regular. Jamie introduced me to the beauty of the silliest social network ever created, Snapchat, and up until last week she was also my only friend on the social network (#ImTooOldForThis). My favorite thing is communicating with Jamie solely through Snapchat and you’d be surprised at how much you can get across with a funny photo that only lasts 10 seconds.

9. A person to share my career passion with. When Jamie started studying communication, I had no idea she would turn out to be just as big a PR geek as I am. From exceeding expectations at three internships so far and serving as PRSSA chapter president, I’m so proud of what she’s accomplished so far and I look forward to seeing where her career takes her when she graduates from college next year.

10. Someone who supports me in life’s biggest moments. When I saw Jamie at the finish line of the Philadelphia Half Marathon this past November (with an everything bagel in tow!), I felt so incredibly loved and supported. The fact that she drove from school in Delaware at the crack of dawn to see me run by for two seconds filled me with joy and completely made the entire 13.1 mile race worth the struggle.

11. Someone to talk to in the middle of the night. Back when Jamie and I shared a bedroom circa the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, we also shared many a middle-of-the-night conversation, me from the top bunk, and her from the bottom. Nothing beat our favorite goodnight send off: “I’m sorry if I did anything bad today, do you forgive me?” “Yes, I forgive you. Do you forgive me?” “Yes. I love you.” “I love you too.” So sweet.

12. A fellow music geek who understands the epic-ness that is Les Miserables. From Lawlor family sing-a-longs to multiple attempts to string Les Mis lyrics together via only emojis to sobbing in the movie theater, no one understands the Les Miserables obsession more than Jamie. That’s because she’s the very reason we all fell in love with the show in the first place, when she played Young Cosette at the age of 11 for our town’s high school production of the famous Broadway musical.

13. A friend I can force to do races with me. Somehow along my crazy running journey, I wrangled Jamie into running her first 5K and then quite a few more (some of them involving goofy costumes, making her all the more awesome).

14. Someone who isn’t afraid to tell you when you’re being ridiculous. A sister keeps you grounded and isn’t afraid to call you out or tell you when you’re being absolutely crazy. Thanks, Jamie, for keeping my ridiculousness under control.

15. An amazing baker. No one can bake like my sister, Jamie. The girl gets into baking mode every so often and when she does, watch out…the entire house is in danger because literally everything she makes tastes amazing. Case in point: check out this cake she made me for my birthday.

16. A person I can’t go an entire day without talking to at least once. It’s weird enough if Jamie and I don’t have some sort of conversation before 9 a.m. let alone going an entire day without communicating. In fact, I’m not sure it has ever happened (and I hope it never does!).

17. Someone to wear matching outfits with. My mom was NOTORIOUS for dressing all the Lawlor kids alike, whether for a special occasion, holiday or random day with no rhyme or reason. Looking back, I laugh hysterically when I see some of our get-up’s.

18. A firecracker. Jamie is passionate…some may call it stubborn, but basically, she knows what she wants and doesn’t let anyone get in her way or tell her no. Oh, and she’s ALWAYS been this way. Exhibit A: photo to the right post-major temper tantrum (but I’m sure she eventually got her way!).

19. The first person you text or call when something good (or bad) happens. My sister is one of the absolute first people I want to talk to when something big happens in my life, no matter if the news is positive or negative. I know she’ll be there to support me either way.

20. Someone who knows all your little quirks and still loves you anyway. I’m sure she could list a dozen of them and I could definitely name a few of hers, but regardless, we embrace all of each other’s unique qualities. That’s the beauty of being a family and that’s what makes our relationship so special and irreplaceable.

21. Forever. Simply put, a sister is forever. No matter where we end up in life, whether we’re near or far from each other (though it better be near!) having a sister means having a bond that truly can never be broken.

Happy birthday, Jamie! I hope you have a wonderful day and I can’t wait to celebrate with you for many more years to come.

Do you have a sister or a sibling that you’re extremely close to? Share what the relationship means to you in the comments below.