JENNY LIND, JENNY WREN

SEPTEMBER 26, 2019 – I’m the luckiest brother on earth, because I’ve got the best three sisters on earth . . . or, as far as I know, anywhere else.

Today is my younger sister’s birthday.  Named after the Swedish Nightingale, “Jenny Lind” (or “Jenny Wren,” as our dad called her when she was a child) is just three years behind me, but because she’s my junior, she’ll always be “young.” It doesn’t hurt that she eats healthful food and exercises regularly.  But what contribute most to her youth are her heart and mind: she loves life, laughs a lot, and reads voraciously.

When we were kids, our two older sisters, Kristina and Elsa, seemed joined at the hip—theirs, not ours.  When our parents referred to us four collectively, they said, “The girls and . . . Jenny and Eric.” “The girls” went off and did their stuff together, while Jenny and I got left to our own joint diversions—sometimes under parental supervision, sometimes not.

Being three years older, I assumed the role of boss, though when we played school, which was often, I let Jenny be the teacher . . . occasionally. One of my supreme regrets in life is having been mean all too often to such a sweet kid as Jenny.  She was always full of good cheer and her imagination had no bounds.  In retrospect, I think I envied her for her creativity and happiness, hence all my put-downs of her considerable achievements.

I am lucky, however, for redemption. It took time, but eventually I outgrew my immaturity and learned to accept and embrace my younger sister’s many gifts.  We long ago became close friends.  Like our older sisters, Jenny is smart, wise, strong, funny, loyal, patient, thoughtful, loving, caring, talented, curious, sensitive, interesting, entertaining, and generous—everything a person could ask for in a friend. If I was once the “boss of her,” I am now one of her most ardent fans.

Jenny’s husband is a storied storyteller, but truth be told, it’s Jenny who tells the best tales.  A close observer of human nature and behavior, Jenny has a special gift for turning her observations into unrivaled humor.  She does so spontaneously, often on the porch or patio.

As a kid, she could be amusing even when serious.  I remember a time when the rest of us were out and about.  Jenny was eight or nine and alone at home.  She decided to hop on her bicycle and ride to Matheny’s Corner Store to buy some candy.  Having learned well, basic lessons of home security, she locked the back door and left on the mat a note for whomever might arrive home ahead of her—including a possible, would-be intruder.  Her note read, “I went to the store.  The key is behind the . . .” Just then, she’d caught herself. “[W]here it usually is,” she continued.

To Jenny “Wren” I wish a very, very “Happy Birthday!” The key to your continued good health and happiness is . . . where it usually is.

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© 2019 Eric Nilsson