★ The Best Christmas Gift…Ever!

It was May 31st, 1996, just before midnight and I was only asleep for a couple of hours when I was awoken suddenly by Dad. My favorite Nike t-shirt and shoes were laid out on the floor because this night had been in preparation for a long time. For the past few weeks, I went to sleep each night with a set of clothes folded on the floor so when it happened, I was ready to climb in the car and leave our home in Leeds, Alabama and head toward Birmingham. On that day in 2006, I was 8 years old and wouldn’t turn 9 for another 2 months. My Mom was in pain as Dad rushed to the hospital. I was in and out of sleep but remember vividly the back road we took through the country side to the nearest hospital. When we arrived, my grandmother and other family arrived shortly afterward. We waited for hours and I remember waking up on my grandmother’s lap as I had fallen asleep again. Dad walked out of the emergency room and he was crying as he hugged his mother and grandmother.

Cheyenne Destiny was born at 9:32AM weighing in at 6 pounds and 7 ounces on July 1st, 2006. I got to hold her for the first time about an hour later. Being nearly 10 years old and Cheyenne being my first sibling, I watched her grow, learn and explore. I was there and have fond memories of nearly every step in Cheyenne’s development. The memories of her first day at school, first steps and first time saying Mom & Dad are so clear in my mind. I was a lucky brother and still am today. It wasn’t until January of 2000 that Marley Dharma was born and today, both sisters are so close to me both physically and in my heart as I have been there for them since the moment they took their first breath.

Cheyenne and I are closer in age so there are a few things that we can align on especially now that she’s 13 and entering high school, dating and more independent. She’s a great girl, very smart and talented at school and with sports. Her curiosity sometimes gets the best of her and, this year, I wanted to do something special for her as a Christmas gift. She was paid up and ready to go on a trip to Washington DC with her 8th grade class in February. I was going to be a chaperone but I learned that only parents could join the kids so I wasn’t able to go. Cheyenne was clearly most excited about the trip because she would be able to see me. Since I moved to San Francisco in June of 2008, I talk to both of my sisters every week on the phone but it’s not the same and any time I get to see them is cherished and looked forward to.

For the past month, me and my parents have been discussing a huge gift for my sister. I live in an amazing city. It’s the home of many artists, inventors, entrepreneurs and history. San Francisco’s past and present is ingrained in every building and street. You can ski and surf within half a day’s drive. There are mountains, valleys and even wineries. It’s a beautiful city that I love living in and when I visited home 2 weeks ago, Cheyenne spent hours looking through nearly 24 thousand photos that I’ve taken of San Francisco since moving here last year. She was excited, inquisitive and interested and never once did I see her lose interest.

Cheyenne, has visited a few states in the south like Alabama and Georgia. She’s been to Orlando Florida but has never ventured out of the south. She’s also never been on a plane or traveled anywhere away from Mom & Dad or me. Granted, she’s 13 but I remember back when I was that age. I was only 15 when I took my first trip to San Francisco for Macworld. I had no idea what I was doing but I went and I loved it. It opened me up to a new world and when I came home, I wanted to travel more and I felt like there’s more out there because I’ve seen it. It inspired me to work harder in school and study more because I had to really grow as a person if I was going to travel one day and see the world. So many of my friends never left our hometown after graduation because many don’t think it’s really worth the money or time to travel.

As her big brother and someone who wants Cheyenne to see the world, learn her limits and teach her about life and living, I’ve bought her a plane ticket to come visit me. I’ll be returning from CES in Las Vegas on Monday the 11th. Cheye-cheye will board a plane on Thursday morning (the 14th of January) and she’ll be staying with me through Monday night (the 18th). Due to the amazing time zone changes, we’ll have Thursday from 2PM all the way through Monday at 5PM to hang out.

I’ll be renting a car, taking her to alcatraz, golden gate park, surfing in the pacific (she loves to surf) and exploring the city. She’s bringing the Canon SD800 that I bought her for Christmas last year and we can explore and take photos. I’ll show her Berkeley’s campus and if the weather agrees with us, we’ll get to bike across the golden gate bridge and go exploring Sausalito. We’re going to have an amazing week. My baby sister here in San Francisco with me. She’s grown up so much over the years. I included some photos below.

Cheyenne (my sister)
Taken in 2003
Cheyenne (my sister)
Taken in 2004
Cheyenne (my sister)
Taken in 2005
Cheyenne (my sister)
Taken in 2006
Cheyenne (my sister)
Taken in 2007
Cheyenne
Taken in 2009 (2 weeks ago)
Cheyenne
Cheyenne in Thanksgiving 2009

The full photo-set:

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