Sisters

I’ll admit I’ve long been jealous of the relationship Erica and Kylene have as sisters. I’ve never been close to my sister, even when we were still at home. Since then, we’ve barely had any contact.

This weekend Laurie and Bob stopped for a visit on their way to Florida. We’d invited them when they mentioned in their Christmas letter that they were heading south and they surprisingly took us up on it. I was pretty nervous about the whole thing, but we actually had a great time. They got here Friday around suppertime and left this morning (Sunday) after breakfast. She had mentioned that she doesn’t eat gluten, but that didn’t really prove to be a problem. Nor did bringing their two adorable dogs – a St. Bernard/black lab cross and a basset hound/dachshund cross.

Did we ever talk. And talk. And talk.  Mostly Laurie, but I knew from the times I’ve seen her briefly that this would be the case. But I genuinely wanted to hear what she wanted to tell me about this time, and I was more able to see it, not as bragging, but as wanting her big sister to be proud of her accomplishments or simply wanting to share with us something she’d found funny.

I can’t even describe how tired and “talked out” we were by the time they left. We literally did little other than talk (and listen) the whole time they were here.  We went hiking and walked around downtown a bit, but the talking continued through that! But now that they are gone, I feel that we’ve made up for a good portion of the years we missed and that we are ready to move on as “sisters.” We really have a lot in common – a love of dogs, being physically active and working with clients with their fitness (she’s a physical therapist), enjoying culture (she’s more into visual art, though, and not music), and building things. She is actually an accomplished woodworker, making elaborate cabinetry and so on. She has many funny tales of trying to get salespeople to understand that is she who needs supplies or a tool or whatever, and not her husband!  And I can totally relate after all the time I’ve tried to convince salespeople that I actually know what I want when I’m looking for a plumbing or electrical part for a remodeling project.

So, anyway, I have high hopes that this may be the start of a new phase of life in which I actually have a sister in much the same way Kylene and Erica have a sister!