Once, when O was 4 months old, my sister came over. If you have had a newborn to care for, then you can understand barely having time to brush your teeth let alone brush your hair. If you have never taken care of a newborn, just trust me on this one.

When my sister gets her hair colored or cut or anything, we are supposed to notice. If we don’t, she points it out.

In my family, we like to tease each other about our ‘weirdnesses.’ I have plenty of my own… but I am not telling!

Since my sister did not notice — and of course compliment — my new haircut, I pointed it out to her. Without a pause she said, “I couldn’t tell since your hair wasn’t brushed.”

Oh, man.

Let’s just say I remembered that comment. After that, I could not wait for her to get pregnant and handle a newborn and see if you have time to eat with two hands let alone brush your hair. (insert evil laugh here)

Oddly enough, she was pregnant at the time. We didn’t know yet.

Flash forward. I was exhausted last week. That bone-crushing exhaustion after you’ve been woken at 0430 by your daughter’s nightmare and at 0630 by your father calling to ask if you want a surfboard (don’t even ask).

I told my sister I was cranky and tired and didn’t want to talk on the phone. She’s also exhausted handling her baby. She is so tired that she asked her husband the other day: “Did you call the banana?”

And she had NO idea what she was really trying to say.

Some days, there’s nothing as good as someone who can truly understand what you’re going through.