Tribute to Inna

I miss Inna very badly this morning because when I'm the least bit upset or worried/scared about something, I usually go to her. And she isn't here. I miss her more than I've ever missed her before! I keep on telling myself that she is just at a camp or on a trip and that she'll be home any day now. But that's not true. I even find myself leaving work thinking about if I need to pick her up from Softball practice or not. And when I'm bored at home, I tell myself that Inna will be home at 3:30. Then I realize that she's gone. It's tough. We fought a lot, and we made up. We played around, and we teased each other. We talked about guys, our futures, how much we hated each other, and we used to love listening to music together. When I had my surgery on my nose, she began playing doctor the minute I got home. She made sure that I ate, took my medicine, and was comfortable. She even told me to shut up a few times when I cried too much. How's that for tough love?? She made me chicken noodle soup! It was amazing! It gave me life again.

I remember coming home from Galax one evening, Inna made me make up a song. It was about a rat, a dog, a wife, and a guy. It was a funny song. And she made me sing it all the time! But she loved it!!

At the airport, when I was in the boarding area with her waiting for her plane, we sat and we took silly pictures. We ate M&Ms. We called people so she could say some goodbyes. Then she lay down on my lap and looked up at me. I wanted to cry right then.

It's hard to believe that when we first decided to have her, I had planned to not get close to her at all. I thought that she would have her own friends, and she would be out doing stuff with them. I figured that if she was close to any of us, it would be Victoria. But, despite what I thought/planned, Inna came, and for the first umm...maybe 2-3 months, we didn't get along very well. But, once we had had several arguments, and cried many times, we made up, and tried to get along better. We did get along better.

We used to argue and fight over phone and internet time. We did that from the time she got here, to the time she left. I guess we will if we see each other again too!!

So. To end this. I love Inna Zhekova-Hall. And I always will! She's my oldest-little sister. I love her dearly! So...Miss Inna...if you read this. Remember what I've said.


Cate Hall