Sisters

Do any of you have siblings?  Have you had to share your whole life?  Do you love and resent your siblings all at the same time?  I'm here to tell you, there is nothing better than being a sister to a bunch of younger kids.  The power and control that you have over these people is phenomenal. 

I was lucky enough to have two sisters and a brother.   I don't ever remember being without my sisters.  Now my brother is another issue completely.  He was born much later in my  childhood.  I was 16 when he came on the scene.  My sisters and I were inseparable when young.  We seemed to drift apart as we got into our teens.  Then came the boyfriend stage, where you did not even speak to each other.  From there we were married and now had lives and families of our own.  Now our children are gone with families of their own and that leaves us time to contemplate life.  As you get older and realize how important family is, you depend more and more on their output and feedback in the decisions life throws at you.  Now, if a day goes by that I don't talk to them, I go through withdrawals.  It is like I cannot live without at least speaking to them daily. 

Now it is funny, over the years I have come to realize that sisters do not have to be linked by blood.  I have some sisters that started out as just acquaintances.   They have however grown to be part of my life and family.  They have been there for me and I for them, through some of life's worst and best times.  We cry, laugh and ponder the things life throws at us, but we do it together.   These are the people that you don't feel strange calling at two in the morning and telling them that you just called to vent.  They don't judge you they just listened and at times laugh at the things you have told them.  They are just there for you no matter what.  I have over the years had many friends.  Not many that I would call a sister.  There are however a few that have held me together, and I them during some really tough times.  These people are the lifes blood of sisterhood.  You don't have to be related to a person to call them your sister.

The computer has become my greatest friend.  Facebook, the wonder of all wonders, is my lifeline to my family.  We log on before bed, before work and midday just because.  It is such a joy to be able to speak to my sisters, who live so far away, when ever I get the urge.  I love being able to bounce ideas off them, that are eventually relevant to all of us,  before embarking on some crazy unbalanced feat of stupidity.  It is so nice knowing that they are there to support me even in some of the stupidest things imaginable.  They have been there for me each and every time, usually laughing uncontrollably and pointing fingers, but in the end, they were always there. 

We tease each other about our short comings.  We laugh at all the bad things that have happened, usually because if we didn't we would be sobbing our eyes out.   The things we have endured over the years have made our bond stronger than ever.   As my sister Deb says, once in a while I throw myself a pity party for about 5 minutes.  Then it's, "put on your big girl panties" and get on with your life.  We have all had bad things happen in our lives.   Some a little worse than others.  There are horrible things in every family, we have had to deal with, Parkinson's, Diabetes, Cancer and Heart Disease in ours, but we keep on going.   We are there for each other. 

I do think in my heart of hearts that, our parents are proud of how we turned out.  We have all had our share of tragedy and come through it all.  There has been good and bad that we have had to endure.  We are a little worse for wear, but still plugging along.   We are sisters to the end.  A sister is a sister is a sister.   So for all of you out there that think you can make it on your own, think again.   There is nothing like a SISTER.