sisterhood

i have three sisters. my relationships with each of them are so important to me. i can't imagine my life without them.

i can remember as a young girl, the first time that i felt the unbreakable bond of sisterhood. it was back when my parents had just divorced. we had just returned from a hard weekend with my dad. i can't really remember the details of the weekend, and it wasn't anything my father did, it was just part of getting through the newness of it all. we were raw and experiencing the pain of such a traumatic change in our lives. i can remember the three of us laying on my sister heather's bed and crying together. my mom tried to comfort us, but there wasn't much she could do. it was my sisters that i needed. and somehow, through the pain, we met one another's need. it was the sisterhood, the even playing field of three girls going through the same trauma together, that brought us out from under the cloud of that day.

as we began to get older, our bond of sisterhood was somehow severed in a way. we were each walking through life, experiencing our worlds separately instead of clinging to one another for support. it was divisive for us. and while we were always sisters, our hearts for one another changed.

after i graduated from college, through some very unusual circumstances, i went to live with my sister stacy. and in the year that i lived with her, we found our bond once again. during that year, we spent a lot of time talking together, usually over a game of cards. in spite of the years and the life stage (she was married with a baby, i was a fresh wandering college graduate searching for my future), we built a bridge. the friendship that emerged from that year together carries me even to this day. in the past few years, we have only grown stronger. don't get me wrong, it still has its sisterly ups and downs, but it is an unbreakable tie that binds us.

it was more difficult to repair the damage that occurred with my oldest sister, heather. because we had seven years separating us and because we lived so far away, the chasm was that much harder to cross. i think that the repair began for us when we had babies at the same time. it was unusual, because i had thought she was done having children even before i married. i never expected us to go through that journey together. but we did. and through the birth of our babes (will and ellie), we began to heal. it wasn't until recently, that i felt like our relationship had come full circle, though. over the past year we have talked weekly, seen each other more, and really gotten to know one another as adults, leaving our childhood identities and family roles mostly behind. it feels good to know her in this way.

and then there is my little sister. we still aren't quite there yet. she is so much younger than i am and we see each other so infrequently, that it is challenging to build that adult bond. but i am hopeful. she's in her last year of college, and my desire is for us to also establish a friendship that goes beyond our family dynamic. we are making little strides on that front, but i know the future holds good things for us.

why am i bringing all of this up? why is it fresh on this momma's mind? well, i'll tell you.

it is because i see the sisterhood forming. i see the way that d looks to her big sister e, expectant, hopeful, desiring acceptance, longing for relationship. and i see the way ellie girl gives it to her, freely without hesitation. she loved to make her little sister laugh, she celebrates d's accomplishments and she misses her when they aren't together.

it is sweet and lovely to watch it unfold. and while i know that there will be bumps in the road, i hope that they can be close always. i hope that life doesn't find a way to creep into their relationship and separate them. i long for them to know the amazing feeling of sisterhood- of closeness that is like no other. i long for them to cling to one anther as they walk through life and to call one friend.


*the photo above was taken a while back. we were teasing e one night at bedtime saying that d was going to sleep with her since she was so good at caring for her little sister. we told her that we thought she might do a better job in the wee small hours than momma or daddy could:)