Michelle Natalie Tolson (on the left, the tragedy with the braces on the right is me), Taurus, works for the NSW Fire
Brigade in Sydney (in fact she recently got promoted) also the older sister to
four of us, and great friend to many.
My sister Michelle (Shelley) and I are the only two siblings
in the family with the same parents – the rest of the siblings either share the
same Father or the same Mother as us with stepparents in between.
Our Father raised Shelley and I after the old lady left us
when I was about 12 and she was two years older. Over the years I have grown to
accept and admire that my older sister is very, very close to our Father. It’s
something I admire about her and a tiny part of me envies but they are
seriously a lot alike. This woman loves motor-racing, swear to god if there was
a choice between a weekend away at a spa retreat, and a weekend at the V8’s
with a cold brew and great view, she would choose the latter. She also loves
and knows all the rules of rugby and rugby league. It is pointless watching a game with her
unless a) you genuinely enjoy it and b) don’t try and pretend to know the rules
when you don’t as nothing pisses her off more than having a know-all sitting
next to her when they know nothing at all.
Shelley Tolson is a firecracker in a small yet very
attractive package. The most independent, courageous woman I know, she suffers
no fools but geez she’s a hard case. And
of course it’s no secret those born under the sign of Taurus can occasionally
be a little moody and Shelley Tolson is no exception. HOWEVER, on the flip side
when the girl is on, she’s ON fire.
If looks could kill – Michelle Tolson would be a serial
killer. With one glance she can cut a grown man down to mere millimetres, and I
have to say, most of them deserve it. This is not a gal who hits the town to
prowl for men; she is one of those great, rare females who actually goes out to
enjoy herself with the people she’s with.
Since my first nightclub experience with her when I was 15 (Peppers
Nightclub, Papakura, yes you remember Marcia, Kay and Michelle) Shelley was like that and still is to this day. Friends first.
We had a bit of a shit childhood, we know it, we’ve dealt
with it and it is an absolute miracle that my older sister has turned out as
fabulous and well rounded as she has. I know she coped a lot of crap from me
too after the old lady left us, and I really wish I hadn’t been such a dickhead
little sister to her.
But as we got and continue to grow and experience our separate
lives, we have gotten closer and chummier as friends and as sisters. Shelley is
the stable one; I often refer to her as, “The
nicer, calmer version of me”. Which
she is. Arama, Dana, Kyrstle and I know she is the one we younger siblings all
look too – almost in a matriarch kind of way.
She also runs her house with military precision – seriously
anyone who goes over there knows that. Sydney has Coles Supermarkets and
Tolson’s. You very rarely have to go across to the Maroubra Road dairy for
anything when you’re at Shelley’s because she seriously has everything. You
know those little things you have to run to the Supermarket for like tomato
paste or cream, or cold beer and fresh bread – Shelley already has them.
She’s taught me one of the most valuable lessons of all; we can only ever be responsible for our
actions, not for the way other people behave. We can’t control shit that
happens to us in our lives or those who choose to be negative, however we can
control how we react and what we learn from those experiences.
And so my sister Shelley, on behalf of everyone who has ever
met you or is fortunate enough to get close to you and call you a friend, you
are fantastic, and please know this has been written with heart and love, to
celebrate you.
