Lisa Carnley is managing editor of the Lampasas Dispatch Record. To say my sister and I fought a lot when we were growing up is like saying the Sahara is just a desert, or the Atlantic is just an ocean.

We fought, and we fought hard. Hair pulling, slapping, throwing things at each other -- the whole nine yards.

Being just 17 months apart (and I constantly remind her she is older), Sharon and I had our ups and downs when we were youngsters.

I could goad her like nobody’s business until she got mad enough to hit me, and then I would run and tell Mom all about it. Being the older sister, Sharon usually got in trouble.

It used to make her mad that on her birthday I would get a small gift, too. Sharon used to tell me it wasn’t fair. What did I care? I got something out of it.

She and I would chase each other through the house, usually with some type of “weapon” in our hands: a rung off the bunk bed ladder or a plastic hanger. Then whoever made it to the bedroom first would lean on the door to try to keep the other out, usually without much success.

Mom used to tell us “Just don’t bleed on the carpet.” But we even did that a time or two when she wasn’t home.

We have broken each other’s glasses, ripped shirts, and torn the other’s posters and pictures off the wall, all because we were mad.

And you know, right now, I can’t think of a single reason for any of the fights we had. I guess we were just kids letting off steam. But we really acted like we couldn’t stand the sight of each other.

If someone had told me then that I would grow up to love, admire and respect my sister, and that I would defend her to the death, I would have told them they were crazy.

But the years have passed, and we have been separated for most of them. We see each other about once every two years -- or more often if we are lucky.

She chose the military life and retired as a lieutenant colonel from the Air Force after 26 years of service. I couldn’t have been more proud when I attended her retirement ceremony in Illinois. And the military treated it with the pomp and circumstance the occasion merited.

I have visited Sharon at many of the places she and her husband, Mike (now an Air Force lieutenant colonel), have been stationed. I went to Las Vegas with them, and I had an amazing time when I visited them in Alaska.

Sharon and I have been on several Caribbean cruises, as well, and we plan to go to Hawaii next month.

Though our relationship got off to a rocky start, as is typical with siblings so close in age, we have matured. We realize what matters most, and that is family.

I think back all those years to the time we spent fighting and consider it a waste that we didn’t use our time growing up together more wisely because it didn’t last long. Sharon left home when I was 17, and I left shortly thereafter.

Some relationships seem to cool with distance, but not ours. My sister has turned out to be my best friend. I know I can count on her when I need something, and she knows the same thing about me.

Sharon can tell by the inflection in my voice if something is really wrong, and vice versa. She says she calls just to say “Hi,” and in reality, I know she is checking up on me to see if I need anything.

She has my back, and I have hers. That’s the way it ought to be. No more wasted years for us. We appreciate the time we have together and, more importantly, we appreciate each other.

There’s a lesson in there somewhere for siblings who fight more often than they don’t.

But we are some of the lucky ones, and I’m just glad I learned that while we still have time to enjoy each other.