The Park Hill

Some sisters are close because of things like dresses and hot actors in favorite movies. Not us. Kelly's not like most girls. They worry about make up and popularity while she would much rather be in a corner sitting quietly by herself. Most times she won't talk to you. She'll just sit there and stare. I've told her she shouldn't, that it makes people uncomfortable, but she hasn't got much better at it. Mom and Dad say I need to be more patient with her, that it's hard for her to interact with strangers. It's always okay for her to act up, but when I do it I get in trouble. She started screaming in the store once when she was 9 and I was 11 and they ignored it until she stopped and we went home. When I did that the next week cause Mom was taking too long shopping for a dress, I got scolded and wasn't allowed to play with my friends for a week. She always gets special treatment while I'm working my butt off for what I get. 

But she's still my sister, you know? I love her to death. Sure she can be a handful like all the time, but if you have questions about the sky, she can answer them. That's what brings us close. I take her to the park and we lie down on the grass and I point to clouds and she tells me what type they are and if it means rain and what types of fronts are moving through with certain kinds of clouds and weather patterns. At night, she'll tell me what constellations you can see and the names of the stars she knows and the Greek stories for some of them ("But that's stupid because people can't turn into stars"). And sometimes we just lay there and think about the stars. Because lying there with her I can almost feel the impact she's made on my life and I wouldn't dream of changing it. ("What people call shooting stars and comets are most often meteors.")

(Sibling of a person with Aspergers)