It's all relative.

Awesomeness apparently runs in the family.

Earlier this year, my dad and my brother traveled across the country on a bike. Now, I have learned that my sister Annette might become the next Animal Planet celebrity.

A life-long animal lover, Annette was the person in my family who as a teenager hid a cat in her bedroom for a few weeks until my mom discovered it. She's the one who nursed two baby birds with a missing mother to life until they were ready to face the world on their own. At one time, she had potbelly pigs roaming freely in her apartment until the landlord found out. Then she worked as a pet groomer for a few years.

She's now down to two dogs, two cats, fish and I believe some ferrets (though who really knows for sure).

Anyway, it came to no surprise when my sister announced last year (or maybe the year before) that she was training to be an animal officer, even though none of us really know what that meant. It's kind of like being a cop who investigates animal cases (for example, an animal that is hit by a car and needs to taking care of or getting animals out of abusive situations). She and her friend Sandi went through weeks of intensive training, including how to handle a gun, and while an animal officer was needed in her Pennsylvania community, the town didn't have the funds to support it.

Until now. Annette and Sandi have accepted jobs as animal officers and have been in Philadelphia for a few weeks of training, and apparently Animal Planet has been taping them, and they might be on an episode of Animal Cops, Philadelphia!

I have never seen my sister so excited about work in her life, but she has emailed all of us to tell us how much she loves her job. She sounds so happy. I think she's found her calling, and I am proud of her for going for her dream even though they were a bunch of road blocks along the way.

With family like this, the holidays will be a lot more interesting.

I have got to step it up!