In which I reveal my deep streak of bitterness and pride

I've confessed here before that the fact that I can now *run the pants* off my sister Adele gives me that warm, candle-lit glow or intense satisfaction and gloating, right? And you know already that the reason for this glow has really nothing to do with Adele, apart from the fact that she had the enviable position of being the gorgeous, athletic sister whilst I sat on the sidelines of high school and ate toast and read pretentious books. Well, aside from A. there's only one other person I still have that urge to beat at something - my cousin Jamie.

Jamie, the cute blonde girl, the valadictorian of her class, the mother of the two cutest children in the world, the cousin who has lived all over the U.S., blah blah you get the picture.

In high school Jamie went to a school not far from mine, and she and Adele and I used to compete in cross country. Needless to say she kicked my ass (everyone kicked my ass, for what it's worth.) She couldn't quite keep up with Adele, being about six inches shorter, but she still had a very fair showing as a high school runner and despite the ten years that have passed since high school I confess that I occasionally pass time on long runs by imagining myself streaming past her at the finish line. And that was always a pipe dream - until this morning anyway, when she wrote me an email and confessed that she planned to train for the Honolulu marathon next December.

And you know what that means, right? It means I have to train for a marathon, and I have to run it FIRST. Or, it means I have to run the Honolulu marathon with her and beat her. *g*

Sometimes I'm embarrassed by how many of my successes in life rely totally on the overwhelming need to right perceived old wrongs. ;)