“You can kid the world. But not your sister.” (Charlotte Gray)
Did you ever read a quote that carried any more truth? Sisters know us and we know them in a way no one else can. Here I am with my mom and my sisters a year or so ago before Mom’s health went downhill last summer. My mother had three sisters, no brothers. I have two sisters, no brothers. We know about sisters. That’s why I focused in on the sisters in my book, Angel Sister. I wanted to share that special bond sisters have for one another.“Sisters are different flowers from the same garden.” (Author Unknown)
You can see we look alike and we look different too. But one thing I know. I can count on my sisters to be there for me.
“A sister is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost.” (Marion C. Garretty)
When you’re kids living in the same house, you’re sometimes ready to choke one another, but the sister bond changes as the years go by. The older sister who tormented you with her superior everything is now the sister you can count on to tell you the truth and point you in the right direction when a decision needs to be made. The younger sister who spilled your favorite bottle of perfume or was always eavesdropping on you and your boyfriend is now the sister who will hold your hand through the worst doctor’s visits or will come help you clean your house before the in-laws visit. And the middle sister – she has always been the glue that held the sisters together. She’s the one with the ready ear and the shoulder to cry on when things aren’t going well. In Angel Sister, I have Kate, the middle sister be the responsible one – the one who wants to make sure things turn out right for her family.
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But our sisters do know us. They shared the same experiences growing up. They know about that first cake you made that the dogs wouldn’t even eat. They know about the snake that showed up in the inner tube with you when you were swimming in the pond. They know how you cried when your favorite cat died. They know about the time you got hit in the head with a rock and they’re still sure you deserved it. They were there at the beginning when you first took up a pen to write a story. They probably laughed. But some things you don’t want to remember. They know exactly who you are and they kept loving you even when they didn’t like you so much.
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“You keep your past by having sisters. As you get older, they’re the only ones who don’t get bored if you talk about your memories.” (Deborah Moggach)
Thank goodness, my mother and her sisters never got tired of talking about their “good old days.” And that I never got tired of listening to them. Without those much repeated stories, I might never have been able to write Angel Sister. My sisters and I don’t do the “remember when” as much as Mom and her sisters did. But maybe we should – where our kids can hear. Our pasts are a gift of experiences and love that we should pass along to the younger generation whether they think it’s boring or not. And then eventually they will do the same. That’s what families do.
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I’ve received some fun sister stories in my gift card giveaway so far. You ‘ve still got time to send me an e-mail with your sister story to get your name in the drawing hat. You could get four chances to win. See my Event page on my website, https://www.annhgabhart.com/ to find out how.
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If you’re in the area, I’ll be doing a booksigning at JosephBeth Booksellers in Lexington on Tuesday night, Feb. 22 at 7 p.m. Virginia Smith will be signing her new book, A Deadly Game, too. We’d love to talk to you there. It’s a fantastic bookstore. I love shopping there.
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Thanks for reading.