Words from a Reader

The “Writing Life Stories” e-mails I receive are such treasures. As soon as I see there is one in my inbox, I read it immediately. I look forward to them and never know how they will touch me. They can be interesting, informative, humorous, and/or touching.

Sunday, August 8, 2021

Sisters

Maria Shriver writes about her two daughters and how she is glad they each have a sister. She had no sisters, only brothers. She often felt unseen and unheard in her family. The boys got all the attention.

My older brothers and my father seemed to make all decisions in our family. I know now that my mother had her own way, especially when it came to her two little girls. Mother, quietly, raised us to be gentle, to be polite, to be kind and generous. She set the example. Gay and I had each other and we often say there is nothing we can't do together.

Recently I found a handwritten fictional story I began many, many years ago about my mother's life. As I read it again, I was taken back to those days when she told me her life story. She had a younger sister, too, but when they were teens, it seems Mother developed early into a pretty young woman who caught the eye of boys in the neighborhood. She liked to dance at the weekly parties and one of the boys always wanted to walk her home. 

Her little sister was a bit slower to enter puberty, and though they loved each other, I don't think they became best friends until they were grown and married. They had the same birthday, December 23, but Mother was two years older than her sister. One of my favorite memories is celebrating their birthday each year just before Christmas. 
Lois and Mildred, two sisters, were born exactly two years apart.

My sister is two and one-half years younger than me, but we have always been extremely close. Living on the farm and growing up with only each other, we played together every day. We never had disagreements or fights. We had no jealousy or competition between us. When I see kids fighting and hitting each other in the family TV shows, I can't imagine doing that to my sister.
Gay and Glenda with Dixie, a beautiful dog that belonged to our aunt

Mother was happy when Gay was born because she didn't want me to grow up without a sister. The whole family adored her with her curly black hair and brown eyes. We almost lost her twice. She had pneumonia while still a baby and the doctor gave up on her recovery. Later she had whooping cough. I can still hear the terrible sound of her constant coughing. The disease can cause serious and sometimes life-threatening complications in the very young. I thank the Lord every day that she lived.  

Gay is in dark skirt with her modern dance group at UGA



As a child, I had little confidence and was scared to try new things. While I was a secretive writer who never let anyone read my words, Gay was courageous. In college, she joined the Modern Dance club and one summer she won a scholarship to a dance retreat in New England.

She was asked to enter the Miss Albany beauty pageant. I was impressed when she made her pretty costumes for her talent portion. She impressed the head of the Albany Ballet. He asked her to join the company. She danced with them even though she had never studied ballet. 

Gay is a talented artist who can paint and draw and sculpt.
I have the first full-body statue she created from clay. At my niece's house is her full-body sculpture of Will, our great-nephew. 
On my wall hangs the portrait she did of my beloved mare. It is a treasure that is priceless to me. She has done pet portraits for family members. She brought much joy to others with her visual art.


 I love this little guy who sits in my living room. I am in awe of my sister's talent and ability.


The problem with being close sisters is that people assume we are of the same mind about everything. 
We were often spoken of as one being--Glenda and Gay. My brothers thought we had identical opinions. If I expressed my thoughts on a subject, they assumed Gay felt the same way. That was not and is not always true. We have differences. She is not a people person and I am. She hates to have to speak to a group, and I have no problem with it. She dislikes taking classes, and I enjoy even online classes these days. I thrive on meeting new people. She avoids them being much more comfortable with good friends.


    She dances every week and loves it. 
 She reads far more than I do. I have become an Audible fan. She also writes beautifully. I have some of her words from years ago. I wrote a poem using one of her letters. 
The Pandemic lockdown didn't bother her. She is perfectly happy with alone time. But she is happy she has had her husband, Stu, for almost fifty years. 



My sister has a master's degree in Counseling.
Her friends and family call her or turn to her for help when we are troubled. She has been a Stephen Minister in her church. Stephen Ministers are lay congregation members trained to provide one-to-one care to those experiencing a difficult time in life, such as grief, divorce, job loss, chronic or terminal illness, or relocation

When I want to get away and escape the problems of my life, I head to my sister's home and she and Stu welcome me. 

Glenda, the taller one, and Gay

Mother  and Gay 

She is so much like Mother. 
They are both about the same height, have the same smile and kind eyes. She, like our mother, doesn't let worries about the future drag her down. She is good at living in the moment, living today, and not stressing over what may come. If something looms over her, she gets to work on handling it. She has a delightful sense of humor and we find ourselves laughing like crazy when we are together. 

Even sisters who don't get along as children often find that when they are adults, their sisterhood ties them together in a wonderful way. Sisters share a special bond that helps them throughout life if they don't let small peeves and other people come between them. 

Rosemary Clooney sang a song about sisters. Gay and I never had a fight over a man, but I did chaperone her on her first date. 
Sisters, Sisters
There were never such devoted sisters
Never had to have a chaperon, no sir
I'm here to keep my eye on her
Caring, sharing
Every little thing that we are wearing
When a certain gentleman arrived from Rome
She wore the dress and I stayed home
All kinds of weather
We stick together
The same in the rain or sun
Two different faces
But in tight places
We think and we act as one
Those who've seen us
Know that not a thing can come between us
Many men have tried to split us up but no one can
Lord, help the mister
Who comes between me and my sister
And Lord, help the sister who comes between me and my man
All kinds of weather
We stick together
The same in the rain or sun
Two different faces
But in tight places
We think and we act as one, aha
Those who've seen us
Know that not a thing could come between us
Many men have tried to split us up but no one can
Lord, help the mister
Who comes between me and my sister
And Lord, help the sister who comes between me and my man
Sisters
Sisters
Sister, don't come between me and my man
Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Irving Berlin
Sisters lyrics © Concord Music Publishing LLC

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This is one of my favorite pictures of my beautiful little sister.


 


9 comments:

  1. I am the only girl in my family. How I wish I had sisters, and have found them here in the blogosphere.
    I wonder why people assumed that you and your sister always thought the same? I assume that your brother's didn't/don't. Mine certainly don't. They fought (sometimes bitterly) as children and are not close now. Which I mourn for them.

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  2. My brothers had a leader, Ray, the oldest, and he was respected by his younger brothers. They did have their fights and disagreements as they got older. But, even in business, they had to agree or they didn't take on a new project. I don't know why Gay and I were assumed to think alike on everything. Perhaps as little girls, we were so much alike we got that reputation as being two with the same thoughts.

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  3. I had four sisters, but have only been close to the one near me in age, Norma Jean. We played together always growing up, and have the same age difference as you and Gay. I cherish our connection so very much. I love that picture of your sister that you close with. :-)

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  4. although I loved my brother dearly, I always wanted a sister. Once, as a child, after reading a story about a little girl who asked for a baby sister for Christmas and got one, I also asked for a baby sister for Christmas but never got one. Thank you for sharing.

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  5. You were so fortunate to have a sister. I have a brother whom I love but I would have loved to have a sister too. My mother didn’t have a sister either. She had two brothers.

    My SIL has four sisters. It is wonderful to watch them together. They have a special bond.

    You wrote a beautiful tribute to your sister. She is a treasure!

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  6. Marie, my sister Gay is indeed a treasure. I wish you had a sister. I wish everyone had a sister because I had two and they have been wonderful to me.

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  7. Abbie, I wish you had a sister. She would be blessed to have you and you would love her, I'm sure. I love my brothers, but I never had the relationship with them that I have had with both my sisters. I wrote about my older sister, June, a few months back. She was so much older than I and was married by the time I was six or seven years old, but I adored her, too.

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  8. DJan, I enjoy reading about you and your sister and how close you are. I'm glad you like that picture of Gay. She was just adorable, and she is still such a lovely person.

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  9. Glenda,
    I'm glad you and Gay are close. My sister and I are close, too. We are indeed very fortunate to have sisters who love us and always support us. I just don't know how I would have made it through this recent period when Mom passed, without Barbara giving me comfort. I also liked your poem about sisters.

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I really appreciate your comments, and I love reading what you say.