I want and need to write a tribute to my sisters. I have so many that I cannot even count them. I feel that we are blessed to be able to add so many sisters throughout our lives. In our closest friends, we find sisters. In our sisters gained through marriage, we find sisters. In the sisters who served as mission companions, we find sisters. In the ladies we sit next to at church, we find sisters. Our college roommates, neighbors, and even someone we meet briefly in the store or on the street; we find sisters.
Then there is the sister that we are given in our families. This is a special relationship that is almost impossible to duplicate, for this relationship contains an intensity of love that is hard to explain. Maybe because as sisters, we find a built-in friend and enemy. We find a built-in mother and daughter. We find a mentor and a student. In our sisters, we find ourselves.
“A sister can be seen as someone who is both ourselves and very much not ourselves - a special kind of double.” ~Toni Morrison
I have three beautiful sisters, who also happen to all be my big sisters. Susan, Stacy, and Michelle. I love them beyond description. Our age is not so spread out. Between the oldest sister and myself, there is only a little more than a 5 ½ year difference. We have been close our whole lives. I won’t lie and say that there were not some tough times, but we always have been moving forward and loving each other even more.
“The best thing about having a sister was that I always had a friend.” ~Cali Rae Turner
We always were going on adventures. We had great opportunities that came from the many places we lived. From the shady woods and cold beaches of the northwest, the sunny beaches of So Cal, or the beautiful desert of AZ, we had plenty of places to go and open our minds. Together, we could turn our whole room into a Barbie Town, harmonize our voices in song, annoy our older brothers (and scream when we found that they hung our dolls from the stairwell)…we even spent a day catching chickens and painting their talons and beaks with nail polish. There never was a dull moment between us. There are so many stories and so many moments that we had…so many good times, even if we came away with stitches or a broken arm (which happened).
“Sisters annoy, interfere, criticize. Indulge in monumental sulks, in huffs, in snide remarks. Borrow. Break. Monopolize the bathroom. Are always underfoot. But if catastrophe should strike, sisters are there. Defending you against all comers.” ~Pam Brown
Then we began to enter into real life as we grew. I feel for my father and mother who had to endure their 4 daughters as they proved themselves to be women. Lots of laughter, screaming, fighting, and stealing clothes.
“If your sister is in a tearing hurry to go out and cannot catch your eye, she's wearing your best sweater.” ~Pam Brown
Those years were hard. Those years are memorable. We loved each other; but it also was a time for independence and finding one’s own identity. It is sometimes hard to be original when you have someone that so closely resembles you (sometimes in appearance and sometimes in some form of personality). We didn’t always get along and we sometimes didn’t even associate with each other (the funny thing is, as we talk as adults, we find that we all felt left out from one or the other). We succeeded in becoming our own persons. And then life’s pace picked up and big changes came our way.
“A sister is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost.” ~Marion C. Garretty
Life began to happen, as it does when adulthood arrives. I don’t know if I ever told my sisters how hard it was for me to see them go. I guess that is the territory of the youngest. First Susan left for a whole other state, and while there, she began her own life. She married and was the first to have a baby, our sweet Victoria. Then our family decided to move from Arizona back up to Washington. Stacy decided to stay in Arizona. Michelle and I were brokenhearted to not have her. We did get to be near Susan again. That summer before we moved, Michelle had met Brian. I was worried, because she knew that he was the one. Sure enough, when we got up to Washington, Brian came on up. Michelle and I were constantly fighting; I think we did so to ease the pain of life’s division.
“Sisters is probably the most competitive relationship within the family, but once the sisters are grown, it becomes the strongest relationship.” ~Margaret Mead
Within a matter of months, Michelle was off and happily married to Brian. I was the last one home. It was hard. I missed my sisters. Life wasn’t perfect for any of us. Life’s struggles came to us all. I began my teenage life without my sisters there, but they called and came home every now and then. Our bonds changed even more: deeper and stronger and more emotional. Goodness how those years went so fast! Michelle became a mother. Stacy and I joked that we were the spinster sisters. We had fun. She came home and we went dancing! We would occasionally kidnap the married ones and make them go dancing (now that I am married, sorry, but we had fun). Life continued on. Stacy found her meant-to-be, Ric. She was another goner. I knew I would miss her but still have her.
As my sisters lived their adult lives, having babies (except Stacy at the time, thanks for waiting), I had the amazing blessing of making my own mark. I went off to school and then served a mission (so many great blessings from that). I always appreciated the amazing support from my sisters. I came home and had my sisters so close once again. Stacy then was expecting and I went back to school. I then started dating my sweet Josh and we were married that summer. Life was amazing as we all began to grow even more. Times were not easy for all. Heartache was still experienced. We laughed and cried together even more. Arguments would still happen, but we could still talk. Susan met and married her wonderful Scott and gained 6 more children too.
Amazing blessings and love have abounded as we are all experiencing married life and the amazing blessing of Motherhood.
However, we had a scare this last week. On Wednesday, our Michelle went to the hospital to give birth to her 5th child, Henry. As she was progressing in labor, the doctor realized that little Henry moved position and could not be born naturally. Michelle had to have an emergency c-section. We were a bit worried, but it was a common enough procedure. After she was recovering, our mom was present as we now see she was supposed to be. Michelle began to crash. My mom ran to get help and they coded her because she was going so fast. That was the worst phone call that we have ever received. As sisters; we cried, and prayed, and begged. We called others to pray for her. They put her into ICU and still didn’t know what was wrong. They realized that she needed a blood transfusion – she had lost half of her blood. Then the next morning she started to go down again. They realized from a CT scan that she had blood pooling in her abdomen. They took her in for an emergency surgery and discovered that an artery had been nicked during the c-section. They fixed the problem and she is still recovering in the hospital.
Having faced the scare of almost losing my sister, I wanted all of my sisters to know how much they mean to me. I don’t ever want to go through that experience again. That fear was unbearable. I know that our Heavenly Father knows what is going on in each of our lives. I know that he gave me the sisters that I have. I am so grateful to have them and to love them. I love you Susan. I love you Stacy. I love you Michelle. I love all the sisters that I have been given.
“She is your mirror, shining back at you with a world of possibilities. She is your witness, who sees you at your worst and best, and loves you anyway. She is your partner in crime, your midnight companion, someone who knows when you are smiling, even in the dark. She is your teacher, your defense attorney, your personal press agent, even your shrink..” ~Barbara Alpert
We continue to laugh, cry, talk, gossip, sympathize, congratulate, and to love. We may not always agree, we may still argue, and we may still compete a little with each other. But it doesn’t matter: We are sisters and we love each other.
