A sister is a bit of childhood that can never be lost SISTERHOOD III

I like me best when I'm with you...

Do you have a favorite memory of when you were young

and all the world was still magic.  Maybe you didn't want the wonder to end, and then one day you woke up, wishing to hurry and grow up

and get on to the next great adventure...

and that was probably the next day, if you were spending it

with someone you most always had fun with?

I was the oldest of six children.
A time did come when

I just wanted to hurry and grow up,

get married

and  start my own family!

Now that I am older, and have petty much raised my

own children, and started on the grand babies...

I have a deeper love and appreciation for all of the tender memories

of my own dear sisters.

Cathy was 5 years younger than me. 

She absolutely delighted me.

Where I was blonde and green eyed, she was dark and brown eyed.

She loved, loved music!

Her first extreme infatuation, happened, with

THE SOUND OF MUSIC, 

she loved the movie, but became transfixed with the music.

One Christmas, each of the kids (there were three at the time)

each got a sweet little wooden, rocking chair.

Cathy, would sit and rock contentedly for hours, 

listening to that musical score.  Over, and over again. 

Mom, got a lot of house work done,

while her little one was entertained in this matter.

To this day, music is a huge part of her life.

We shared in lots of adventures outside in the orchards as children. As adults  she has

become one of my most trusted confidants.

***

Holly, was a lot younger than me, when she made her debut to the Twitchell family.  

She has always been an angel.

Blonde hair, blue eyes, beautiful singer...

and we like a lot of the same things.

Decorating, cleaning house, trying out new recipes.

Music!

One time she invited me as a guest, when she was giving a report in Jr. High.  We taught the class how to apply make-up.  I've always wondered how the boys sat through those 15 minutes.

***

Natalie, "little one born at Christmas"...

She could have been my own child as far as the age differences, and for all intents and purposes, I treated like my own.

 

Mother, had a lot of demons she continually struggled with and was not "present" through most of the emotional growth

of her two younger daughters.

She would go through spells of normalcy, and then have a break down of sorts...and well, being the oldest daughter,

I have always felt like I have been a parent to, two  families.

The one I was born into, and the one I've raised with my sweetheart.

Not complaining, just trying to share a little background.

My Mom, truly is one of my heroes!

Natalie, was affectionately called my "Little Noodley"!

She had a head of hair, that was totally out of

control with riotous curls~

I took her every where with me, even on a few dates.

When I married, I think she missed me the most.

...If  only you sense how important you are

to the lives of those you meet...

 How important 

you can be to people you may never even dream of.

There is something 

YOU

leave at every meeting with another person.

You are the magic* 

I have been trying to decide what I should leave with you today.

You see, I have not outgrown, or moved 

far enough away, to escape.  

I choose to shoulder a certain responsibility

where "others" are concerned.

I truly believe that we are here for the sake of others.

We carry an unspoken responsibility 

because we are members

of the greatest club on earth:

humanity ~

Life with my sisters, who I grew up with. 

Who I

cried, laughed, teased, played with...

worked with,

learned with, have grieved with,

rejoiced with,  and mourned with, has helped mold me

into who I am today.

I know that all four of us, love to have our backs scratched,

and our feet massaged, and that none of us are afraid

of work.  We strive to have a clean and orderly home, and enjoy 

cooking up a hot meal for friends, and family.

A walk through the snow, or hike on a dusty mountain trail, 

shuffling along a beach, or standing on hot pavement waiting for a parade to pass by...

all have a significant place in our

being.

When it comes right down to it, in death and life

we are there for each other in any capacity

that we can. 

That call in the wee hours of the morning, with a husband who is suffering in another PSTD out cry..."come please, come."

The text of utter despair with a child who is out of control...

The surgery recovery.

The writing of an obituary you never, ever imagined you would write.

The visit where together we work through that demon of self doubt.

The planning of parties, and support of Mom in her traditions.

Even though I am the oldest,

I learned at the feet of my Mother, and she at hers, and she at hers.

A sister is a bit of childhood that can never be lost.

Sisterhood, is eternal.