Drink the Flippin' Milk, Dang it!

  You don't have to be alive very long on this earth to realize that teenagers are the group of humans with the most emotional problems. Despite how incredibly awesome my sister and I get along, we do occasionally have our issues with each other. Unfortunately, this morning was pretty bad. My sister is a perfectionist...and obsessive when it comes to food (she refuses to eat deformed m&m's and picks the nubs off her peanuts.) I, on the other hand, would rather eat something that fell on the floor than waste food. The milk in our fridge was one day expired, leading us into a heated debate over whether it was safe to drink or not (scandalous, I know.)

What I love about our family, however, is that no one holds a grudge for over an hour or so. We both snapped at each other a little, hurt each other's feelings a little, and went into separate rooms for a while. As I stood in my room imagining how long it would take me to move out of the house, it hit me that it would be far cheaper to continuing mooching off my parents for a few more years, and so I should go and apologize to my sister to create a peaceful household again. As soon as I opened the door, there she was, ready to apologize to me. Dang it...she beat me to it. Now she's the good one. To put the icing on the make-up cake, we decided to go out to coffee, just the two of us plus Koti, our mini Australian shepherd. It was amazing how quick we went from snapping at each other to singing along to Justin Bieber (don't judge me) and goofing off in my car. I think God rewards humility. It's so much easier to stay mad, hold grudges, and cling to pride. It always feels awkward being the one to apologize when deep down you feel like it's not your fault. Truth is, everyone's at fault...and when we recognize it's our fault too, God rewards us with peace in our relationships. And coffee...He rewards us with that too.

People say my sister and I never fight. That's not true. All siblings fight...we've just learned the right way to deal with our fights. My sister is an amazingly mature 14-year old...she deserves way more than just a free latte once in a while. It's kinda ironic, now that I think about it...what began with expired milk ended with delicious milky coffee drinks. Wow...God does have a sense of humor.