Sister

Yup. I was one of those girls who grew up in a predominantly male family.  I have 3 brothers.  And about 11 years ago, one of them brought home Joann, and now have this amazing sister-in-law.  This may have been better than actually growing up with a sister, because we never had to fight over toys or the affections of our parents.  Years ago, Joann asked my mom if she could call her "mom" too, and she said yes.
Joann does a great job of nurturing my adventurous side.  To date, we've gone skydiving, parasailing, ziplining and rolled down a mountain in a zorb together.
Mom is constantly finding deals online for us to expand our adventure repertoire.  So last summer she financed our kayaking trip in Newport.
We talked. We paddled.  We laughed. We saw a sleeping sea lion, towards whom the waves quickly pushed me.  I struggled to put my cell phone away and continue paddling in the opposite direction as it woke up.  For a few brief moments, I thought that my brother's speculations had come true: I would meet my fate at the hands of a wild animal whose personal space I had violated.
On my Facebook, I had posted:

Went kayaking with my sister and saw this guy along the way. Thanks Mom!  

To which my mom replied: "You don't have a sister."