Wedding Party Bio: Maids of Honor Negeen & Sonya Masghati

Bio of a Bridesmaid: Maids of Honor, Negeen & Sonya Masghati

(Pictures to come! Still transferring files over from my old computer.)

How do you write about your sisters in just one blog entry? I have known them their entire lives and have more stories about them than anyone else, both good and bad. Negeen and I were buddies for a few years alternating between playing Barbies (my choice) and building stuff (Negeen's choice), and then Sonya came along to round out our posse.

One of my favorite childhood memories is when Sonya joined the clan. Negeen and I were best buds and my parents were pretty nervous about adding a third girl to the bunch. They tried to get us excited by having us help create a "Welcome Home Carsten" sign and also had us play a computer game on my dad's Commodore called "Bouncing Babies" to increase our anticipation for our own bouncing baby. By the way, if you're wondering why we wrote "Welcome Home Carsten" on the sign, that is because we all thought Sonya was going to be a boy. All I have to say is that ultrasound technology has advanced significantly since 1987. Despite my parents' best efforts, they still weren't convinced that Negeen and I would be kind and welcoming to the new baby, so they did what any concerned loving parents would do: they bribed us.

The day that Sonya was born, my dad appeared at home with a Marble Run. Marble Run toys were this amazing educational toy where you used dozens of various shaped parts to create a luge for a marble. It is also known as a great way to get your kids to shut up and be quiet for a few horus. Negeen and I were obsessed with them (see above comment on Negeen always wanting to build stuff) and when we found out that Sonya "brought us" the Marble Run, we thought that she was going to be the best little sister. We weren't disappointed by our cool little sister, although I was a bit shocked when I had Health Education course in 5th Grade and discovered that there was no physical way Sonya could have actually brought us that toy.

During our childhood we loved each other the way that all siblings do...by picking on each other. Sure, there were moments when we were the 3 Musketeers, but more often than not it was 2 against 1 in a game of wits. One time, Negeen and I convinced a 4-year old Sonya that she was actually an alien that my dad found in the dumpster and didn't know what to do with so he brought her home. "It is amazing what kind of surgery they can do to make aliens look like humans these days." We also convinced her that it was cool to clean up stuff, so she was constantly offering to clean up our toys. And then there were the back rubs - we taught her how to give back rubs and told her it was a national rule that the youngest sister has to give older sisters daily back rubs (or "mashoshes" as Sonya used to pronounce them). Nothing says sisterly love like encouraging child labor.

But don't be fooled - Sonya wasn't always getting the short end of the stick. Negeen and I paved the road with our parents so that by the time Sonya was in high school she had a flexible curfew and minimal rules. And Negeen and I didn't always see eye to eye either. We had plenty of tiffs of our own when Sonya was napping and not around to mess with. When I was 9 years old, Negeen and I were playing in the basement and discovered a spider in the corner. I asked Negeen to kill it, which she was a pro at, and she did...but for a fee. In exchange for killing the spider and wrapping it in a kleenex, she wanted me to eat it. When I got upset, she started shoving the dead spider in my face and I fought back the only way I could think of: I grabbed the pair of scissors sitting next to us and cut off 10 or so strands of her hair. It wasn't noticeable, but it got her to leave me alone. (This is probably where I should note that I didn't grow from age 7-12 and by the time I was 9 and Negeen was 6, she was as big as me and a LOT stronger.) After I thought the issue had been resolved, we went back to playing Barbies. Then, out of nowhere, I felt a tug at my hair and discovered that Negeen had chopped off a lump of my hair that was so noticeable it was now the focal point of my head. That sneaky bugger! I ran crying to my mom who said not to worry, she would fix it for me. I trusted everything my parents said (see above story about my folks saying Sonya brought us a Marble Run from my mother's womb), so I let me mom sit me on a tall stool in the kitchen and start cutting away. After a few minutes I heard a little gasp and realized that I may not have been in capable hands after all. Suddenly the right side of my hair was lopsided when initially it had been the left side! It was so bad that my mom let me skip school the next day to get my new 'do fixed at the salon, and that was the day I got my first and only pixie cut, which is, as a note to all of you considering a pixie cut, not a good look if you have thick curly hair. It took me a few years and a few school pictures to get past this, and now we look back and laugh hysterically. Good memories and I'm happy to know that we were all evenly dishing out crap to each other and that one of us didn't always dominate.

In our adult lives we have equally entertaining stories, but with less fighting and lying to each other. In February of 2008 we traveled to Rome together. I got to be the big sister and show them around a cool new city, and then they got to take on the role of big sister when I got chlostrophobic climbing up to the top of the Vatican (read: panic attack, pushing of strangers). While I may be the oldest, we have shared the role of big sister throughout the years. I may have been the first one to move abroad, but Sonya has been the first one to move to the Deep South, which is more foreign and inexplicable to me than Asia ever will be. Negeen has been the first to start her own company, and a successful company at that. And both of them were big sister to me when I went through a tough time in 2011. And let me also add in a special plug for Sonya. The girl who used to take our crap is actually far more mature than Negeen and I combined, and she has been since she was in high school. Sonya would be the one to cook our whole family dinner, and Negeen and I would set the table while laughing at fart jokes. I may be the bossy sister (I know, you can't believe that, but it is true), but Sonya whips us in shape when it is time to plan our parents' anniversary parties or coordinate our trips home.

I love my sisters and am so excited to share this special day with them. If you don't know who they are, look for Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum doing the Angry Beaver dance at the reception.

Fifteen words that remind me of Negeen & Sonya;

* Roma
* The Buttercream Gang
* $1.95 plastic tool sets
* Cleo and her bra's
* Roller Skating In The Garage
* Waking up David for Sonya's Wedding
* Alvin and The Chipmunks
* Nusco
* The Santa Investigation
* Playground in Wengen
* The Ghost Hotel in Tasmania
* Breakfast At Wimbledon
* Curious George Dolls
* Barf Bags
* Sony Walkman and The Goon

As usual, we will happily explain any of the above during the wedding weekend.