Sisters. There are no words that can adequately define that very special bond. In 1965, I was born to two sisters. Jenny, two and Shelly, three. Born on Dec. 24, I was their Christmas present, a living, breathing, crying doll. And although we grew up so close in age I don’t think we truly appreciated the gift of sisterhood until we began to reach adulthood.Very sadly, my sister Shelly, (being squeezed here in my arms), passed away suddenly at age 40. Jenny and I miss her more than words can say. And although my sister Jenny and I have always been close, the loss of our sweet Shelly has brought us together in a way we could have never known. Jenny, (Jennifer), and I are separated by 2000 miles of land but we are completely bound together in heart and spirit. We talk and e-mail weekly, sometimes daily, and share most of the same creative genes and passions. Not to mention, we really crack each other up.
Shelly’s 46th birthday is one week from today, so I will be celebrating her life and her love by sharing the beauty of sisterhood on my blog this week.
When she passed, Jeff and I adopted her daughter, Sarah, at age 5. Sarah, now 11, and I have our own little tradition to celebrate her mom-in-heaven’s birthday by baking the chocolatiest cake we can possibly make -because if you knew Shelly, you knew chocolate.
If you have a sister, please call her this week, hug her if you can, and take a moment to appreciate and share the blessing you have been gifted. If you would like to share a special sister story, please do in the comments or feel free to email me, I would love to read it.
14 comments:
What a lovely post and lovely way to always have your sister as part of your life. I have 3 sisters and as much as we can bicker, we'd be lost without each other.
I have one sister, and we are very close. I don't even want to imagine life without her. We live within a 5 minute drive of each other, and our husbands are best friends.
This was a lovely tribute to your sisters and totally made me cry. (o:
What a beautiful way to memorialize your sister. I have an 18 year old sister! Yes, I am twice her age. One of my favorite things to do with her is mall hop all the while trying on clothing that I am way too mature to pull off at this point in my life. There's a newness about her spirit and the way she sees the world that helps rejuvenate the old cynic in me. And, now that she has recently become a mom-I get to smell baby feet again!
I, too, will be celebrating our sister's life through chocolate cake, some Neil Diamond and sweet tea (Shelly made it like fudge). Shelly taught me many things; some being the finer things: Chocolate in all forms is great, smooch you kids any chance you get, be sweet to everyone, sometimes you just can't help calling people "Hon", leather really is cool, instant is as good as the real thing sometimes, how fun it is to tell Mom dirty jokes and then explain (and act out if necessary) and sing, sing, sing...even though you only know one note.
I miss Shelly daily, sometimes even in the minute. I miss her when I'm with Cathe and feel close to her then too.
I could never, ever have asked for better sisters. Through it all, our love is amazingly great and if you can believe it...grows.
(Love you Cath)
My sister will be 70 on New Year's Eve. She lives far away too. I want to do something special for her...but haven't been inspired as yet. I am 6 years younger. She is my fashion mentor and the first one to pluck my eyebrows for me. It hurt, but was so worth it. Any ideas for her birthday?
Nancy, send her 70 of something. Notes, scripture, candy, etc.
You'll think of something. It's so hard to be away from one another on birthdays isn't it.
How perfect this is. Not only is my sister's birthday on the seventh, but she got married last weekend. My little sister, my only sister, grown up and beautiful, sophisticated with impeccable taste, my little Allie who got a bean stuck in her nose as a toddler.
Growing up we were miles apart. She was the popular beautiful party girl,fashionable, envied, invited to parties. I was the strange, outsider theatre art chick that no one connected with.
Now as adults we're almost identical in tastes, beliefs,priorities, and I'd be much less of a person without her. Hugging her goodbye as she left for her honeymoon sent pangs of sadness through my heart as we bid farewell to our childhoods, to my arm around her, guiding her. I find myself eager for her to get home from Jamaica so we can giggle and talk about what fun she had :)
My heart goes out to you! I almost lost one of my dear sisters in a car accident, but now she's galavanting around the world - a walking miracle. I wish I could give her a hug, but I'll give my other sis an extra one when I see her! Your post brought a tear to my eye...I love my sisters!
What great stories...I had to get the kleenex out!
I have 5 sisters. We used to be split between living in Florida and living in Michigan. Then last year, the 2 sisters who lived near me in Michigan moved out of state. I miss them so much!
We do take a long weekend sisters-only vacation every other year. We look forward to this trip for about a year!
What a thoughtful and beautiful post. My adopted sister is coming to visit in a month. It will be a particularly meaningful visit because in the past few months, I have been able to uncover lots of fascinating information about her biological father, a man she did not know. To learn about him and why he left her with my parents has brought great healing for both of us- that his decision meant that I was blessed to have her in my life. So, there will be some big hugs come December (although I do sent her electronic ones regularly!)
What a wonderful post. It reminds us to keep our sisters close and tell them we love them as often as we can while we have them. Your blog inspired me to post a Layout of Me and My sister. http://capturedtimebooks.blogspot.com/
Thanks for the sister week heads up!
Great post.
Hmmm - 70 of something...not a bad idea at all. I will start thining about that and let you know.
My heart hurt reading this lovely post. I wanted a sister more than anything growing up and I found out by accident that I had one out in the world somewhere adopted when I was in my pre-teen years. I never thought I'd meet her so I got married on her birthday so I'd always celebrate it. When I was 24 and pregnant with my youngest son, my Mom called me to tell me that a social worker had contacted her on behalf of my sister who wanted to meet her. They talked on the phone and Mom called to tell me all about it. I will never forget the first time we talked on the phone. The first time I ever saw her, I was amazed that she was raised so differently, by different people and yet you'd never know it. Twenty-one and some change later, she has enriched my life in ways that only she could. We have terrible fights sometimes though and don't speak. It breaks my heart and confuses me because we didn't grow up together. Thank you for sharing your love for your sister(s) and reminding me how much my sister means to me.
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