O1xygenAustralianJulyAugust2015_

M

SIS

‘Little’

OXYGEN AMBASSADOR LESLEY MAXWELL RECALLS HER

CHILDHOOD WITH HER SISTER, SANDRA, AND HOW

THEIR RELATIONSHIP HAS STOOD THE TEST OF TIME.

WORDS LESLEY MAXWELL

When my ‘little’ sister was born, I was nearly five years old

my mind she was like a living baby doll, the first few years

her in my arms and as an infant I’d be carrying her around

my back (probably why I have such good core muscles).Iu

to drag her on roller skates down the garden path and piggyback

everywhere! As a teenager, Sandra would always go everywhere

went, so she actually grew up a little faster – as the youngest child

does. We were always very close and often laughed until we cried

the most trivial stuff, which was hilarious only to us.

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We lived in the country

with my parents on the

family horse stud farm,

which consisted of over

200 acres and included

about 100 horses. Life was

really busy – there was the

horse-riding school, which

was run mostly by Sandra

and me, plus the stud farm

and looking after the show

horses. We always had lots

of responsibility and were

both engrossed in horses,

spending many hours in the

saddle preparing our horses

for competition, going to

pony club and then competing

at horse shows together.

Sandra would often change

the alarm clock one hour (or

more) earlier and trick me into

getting up extra early to plait

the horses’ manes and tails

by the stable lights. It sounds

quite funny now but at the

time I’d be really upset when I

realised she’d ‘got me’ again!

“ l actually don’t know how l would have coped

without my sister at certain times in my life.”

82 | JULY/AUG 2015 | oxygenmag.com.au

Mind and body