I’ve been thinking today about Sisters’ Weekend. It’s about
the time of year we usually go, but no one has made a plan.
I have six sisters; I’m the youngest. I don’t remember how
long ago Sisters’ Weekend started – it was sometime before I had children of my
own, and my oldest is nearly fourteen.
People are usually surprised when I tell them about the
weekend. They don’t get along as well with their own sisters to spend a whole
weekend together. I find that sad.
We haven’t had a full Sisters Weekend since my Dad died two
years ago. We were all working through our grief, and our relationship hit some
road bumps, and we just couldn’t quite manage the normalcy. Our Mom died this
past summer, and none of us has felt like planning anything fun.
But, my sisters are my best friends. Even though I know I
drive them crazy, even though we disagree about politics and religion, even
though we are all at different stages of our lives – I need my friends.
The downside of having sisters as your best friends, I’ve
recently discovered, is that you all grieve at the same time. We aren’t able to
support each other through this difficult time because we’re all
faltering.
And I do have friends I’m not related to, but what I really
need are the people who know where I’m from; who watched me screw up and stayed
around to hug me; who see my good intentions through my bad choices; who,
knowing all about me, choose to spend time with me anyway.
Today, I’m worried that I may never have my sisters in the
same way again. Change happens, and intellectually I accept that you can’t keep
the status quo forever. I even accept that change is good. But, the emotional
me just wants everyone to meet up at Ronnie’s beach house, gorge on the junk
food we all brought, give each other advice on buying Christmas presents, and
stay up late playing silly board games. I want Sisters Weekend as it always
was.
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I want a sisters weekend for you too. I hope it works out this year. I am so sad your father died two years ago, and I can't even begin to imagine how sad you are since your mom died.
ReplyDeleteI am sending you a hug.
Thank you for being vulnerable and sharing your feelings. Your words are comforting to me.
I hope you will have a sister's weekend. You all have shared such sadness. You will always need each other. Your words remind us what a treasure we have in our families. I will be calling my mom and my sister tonight. Thank you for trusting us with your thoughts.
ReplyDeleteMy sisters would probably balk at having such a weekend - but we would do it because we love each other and end up finding it to be wonderful. It's too bad we live so far apart.
ReplyDelete