Tonight should’ve been all about The Summer I Turned Pretty season finale. I was up at midnight Wednesday, snacks in hand ready for the emotional roller coaster and roller coaster it was. My poor heart didn’t know what to do one second I was sure Belly would pick Conrad (my forever favorite) and the next I thought she was about to pull a power move and choose herself (nothing wrong with that I just can’t help loving love). But that ending? Pure magic. She got her man and when the movie hits theaters you better believe I’ll be there.
But instead of riding my post finale high into Friday night life had other plans. My husband caught COVID, which of course meant I did too. Very 2020 of us. Between tea, tissues, and far too many naps a little homesickness crept in. And honestly? It felt like the perfect moment to think about family.
Because here’s the truth I adore my own family but marrying my husband gave me another one to love just as fiercely. His parents, his sister they don’t feel like in-laws they feel like mine. In the quietest and sweetest ways they’ve healed parts of me I didn’t even know were still tender. With them I feel safe, comfortable, and fully seen like I was always meant to belong in their story too.
And then there’s my sister in-law the friendship I never knew I was missing. She’s funny, smart, beautiful, and somehow teaches you just by being herself. Mature beyond her years, fiercely passionate about her dreams, and pouring her whole heart into herbal wellness. She’s building her own line, testing every product on herself first, living her passion out loud. Watching her work is inspiring in ways I can’t fully capture.
She may be twenty two, technically grown but she’ll always be my husband’s baby sister. Watching their sibling dynamic the teasing, the protectiveness, the quiet love gives me this deep sense of peace. Like I know he’s going to be the most wonderful dad one day.
I miss our girl talks. I miss laughing until our cheeks hurt and sharing secrets like they’re sacred. She’s free, she’s herself, and she makes me want to be even more of myself too. She’s not just my sister in-law she’s my best friend.
So here we are:
A finale that stole my sleep.
One box of tissues emptied.
One sister in-law who feels like a lifelong best friend.
And me grateful for a family I didn’t just marry into but now get to call my own.
I’m crying