I have brothers. Three to be exact. All older. So yes, I am the baby and the only girl. This role came with its perks (still does!) and its drawbacks. Teased a lot? Yes. Had my own room? Yes. Now that we are all parents and some are grandparents, our relationships have matured. I adore my big bros but that does not mean I did not ever long for a sister. I used to ask my mom for a baby sister every year for Christmas. Instead I got dolls and barbies, which would explain my love of them to this day. But I knew early on that I needed that connection to other girls. So instead of sisters, I was blessed with friends. Not only did I make them, I kept them.
This is one of my favorite pictures of all time. It is my fourth birthday party. We are all in dresses, I have a barbie cake, killer pigtails and best friends. Forty years later these girls are still my friends. We may go for periods of time without talking but when we get together it is an ease and comfort that can't be describe. It's a sisterhood.
Between us we have 32 kids!! (Multiply and replenish? Check!)
We recently did have a few days together and we all spoke of how blessed we are to have each other for so long. We laughed, ate, reminisced, ate, etc... By the end of the weekend it was the Sisterhood of the Traveling Fat Pants! We felt filled and loved and did not want it to end. Luckily for me, it does not end.
Besides having lifelong girlfriends, I have gained sisters. I married a man that has five of them. The dynamics of a large family and especially of sisters were very foreign to me 20 years ago and it has been a learning curve. But as distances grew shorter and time progressed, these ladies became my sisters and best friends. We are LOUD together. love to laugh together and live for the girls trips.
My own family grew in girl power over the years. With two daughters of my own, sister-in-laws that keep my brothers in check, gorgeous nieces I love as my own and great-nieces I adore, I am finally surround by girls. But I still have my curio of barbies and dolls to remind me how lucky I am to have sisters.
Linda
