My Mnemonic

Going through my closet, I spot an old sweatshirt.
To any other it would be just another piece of ugly clothing
to pass by with out a second glance.
But when this sweatshirt falls under my gaze
I flashback to an old scene.

I am only seven,
Yet I am filled with so many new feelings and emotions
that I don't quite understand.
But when they roll my mom out all the feelings just cease to be.
Because when I see the tiny body she is holding,
Tinted blue with very small fingers and toes,
and eyes full of wonder and awe,
I know exactly what I am supposed to do.

I am now the big sister, and I have taken on the duties
of teaching the new child
how to play fair, how to be a gentleman, and how to love.
My life changed so much in that one moment.
I now have someone to take care of and love.
I have someone to follow me around and someone to taunt my friends.
I have someone to fight with constantly and someone to get in trouble with.
I have someone to tell my secrets to and someone who will laugh and cry with me.
And when I looked down into that fragile baby's beautiful eyes,
I knew that everything was going to be okay.
Because I now had someone to grow up with who would love me forever,
No matter how many fights we get in or how long we are apart.
I now have my little brother and I am proud.

That sweatshirt brought back a memory that I had forgotten.
When I saw it I held it in my arms remembering that night,
And I then remembered how much my brother means to me and how great I felt the first time I saw him.

That sweatshirt is not just an old red piece of clothing to me,
For on it are my brother's footprints from that night he was born.
And printed next to them is the role that I was given that changed my life forever:
'Big Sister'