My Older Sister -She Is My Hero

©2012 LaDena Campbell aka justateacher

I am the second oldest of six kids. I am a very lucky person to be able to call these people that I love my brothers and sisters. They are all great people.

My oldest sister, LaDonna, is one of my heroes. I always looked up to her when I was little. She was the one that taught me to read before I started school. We played school almost every day after she came home from school. It was because of her that I got to skip kindergarten and go straight to first grade. She is one of the reasons I grew up to be a teacher.

She was my first best friend. We moved a lot when we were kids. I could always count on LaDonna to be there for me when I needed her. I’m sure she got tired of me tagging along with her everywhere, but with her I felt safe. We got to play together at recess from time to time, and she taught me to do tricks on the bars. She also taught me to play tetherball.

As we got older, we fought like cats and dogs – just like most siblings. We grew apart a little. But through all of our moves across the country, I knew I could always count on her to be around. After our dad died when she was twelve and I was eleven, things changed between us. She grew up much faster than I. But I still knew that she would be there for me if I needed her.

When she was fifteen she gave birth to her first son. A year later, her second son. She dropped out of school to be a mom. She didn’t have much of a choice. Although she and the father of her sons had some troubles, they made things work out and soon they were married. A few years later a daughter joined the family. For a little while I babysat her kids when I was having tough times. I sometimes got the feeling that she did this because she knew I needed the money.

My sister and brother-in-law will celebrate their thirtieth anniversary soon. My brother-in-law will retire from working for the city. He went to work there because it was the best way to take care of his family. LaDonna worked for a while at a fast food restaurant where she quickly worked her way up to manager. After the birth of her daughter, and seeing how expensive daycare was, she opened her own daycare from her home. In this way she was able to be there for her own children to grow up. She did this for over twenty years. During this time, she also got her GED. She finally tired of all the paperwork and new regulations that were changed, seemingly, daily. After twenty years of working from home, she went back to work, this time as a child care provider for a specialized preschool for children with disabilities. Her managers and supervisors thought so much of LaDonna, they asked her to consider going back to school. She did so, and got her degree in early childhood in just a short time.

LaDonna has been the one to keep the family in touch. In the many years I was living in a bad marriage where my ex-husband frowned on me contacting my family, LaDonna called me nearly every day keeping me in the family loop. She also insured that I called our mother on a regular basis and remembered to go to family events throughout the years. Even now she is the one that keeps the family together.

LaDonna took care of me when I was young. She took care of me as an adult and I had a controlling husband that wouldn’t let me be with my family. She helped when I went through my long, drawn out divorce, and watched over me as I met and married the wonderful man I am now happily married to. She was my hero when I was a child. She is still my hero today.