Sisters, sisters, there were never such devoted sisters!

The sisters with Momma

My role models growing up, my heroes, my friends...my sisters

The sisters with Daddy

Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! Psalm 133:1

Happy New Year from windy Wien! Vienna sits in a bowl, surrounded by hills, and I don't know that I've lived anywhere as windy other than Oklahoma. (You know, in Oklahoma, the wind comes sweeping down the plain. Sorry. I couldn't stop myself.) And we live on the top floor, so when it blows--WOW! It sounds a bit like a freight train is coming through from the balcony. But I'm all cozy in my wintergarden/sunroom, and since Hannah is away and the boys are still sleeping, I thought I'd spend some time getting my thoughts down on paper (or at least virtual paper). Hannah left Wednesday for a retreat with other teenagers in our company from all over Europe, and from the pictures I occasionally see of her from adults at the retreat, she is happy as a lark. I have it on the list to write about the important part relationships with other kids from families who do what we do is, but that's not today's topic. As you can see from the pictures and the title, today's topic is my sisters.

I'll be honest--until I went away to college, I assumed most people were close to their siblings. I didn't realize that lots and lots of people have little to no relationship with their brothers and/or sisters. I couldn't--and can't--imagine such a life. Even though my sisters are older than I am and were out of the house and married by the time I hit my teenage years, they remain the people closest to me in the world. I have incredible friendships, great women with whom I do life overseas, or who are my friends in the States. But no one on earth is as close to me as my sisters, Cathy and Kay. I have thought about this relationship more in the last year than ever before, because my Daddy's illness made the true blessing of our relationship clearer than ever before.

When  Daddy got sick in the spring, it was grueling. I spent lots of time just sitting by the phone waiting to hear something. What a relief when  Kay went to Florida to visit my parents. Then we got the news in August that a tumor we already knew about had started to really grow, and the torture continued. What is worse than being a continent away when someone you truly adore is ill? When the surgery to remove the tumor was scheduled, Cathy volunteered to go and help. Then I was already scheduled to go in December to Florida, so we felt like my parents were somewhat 'covered' during Daddy's recovery. (Of course, because  Daddy is  Daddy, he was pretty much recovered before I got there.) I was talking about all of this with one of my friends here, and she asked me about my sisters--were we on the same page about Daddy's illness, about helping out, about who would go when? I must have looked like an idiot, because I sort of stared blankly for a minute. My sisters and I? We're a completely united front. 100%. In fact--and you probably won't believe this--I am 45 years old (that's not the part you won't believe), and I cannot recall EVER having cross words with my sisters as an adult. NEVER. I don't ever recall having cross thoughts about my sisters. No kidding. We get along that well.

As time goes by, I understand more and more the great gift of my relationship with my sisters. I know that in any circumstance, I can call. Need a laugh? Call them. Need to cry? Call them. (Poor Cathy--I called her on our first Christmas Eve overseas and sobbed for 30 minutes, completely ruining her Christmas.) Something done for SB? Call them. Worried about Mom or Daddy? Call them. You get the idea. They are a great source of comfort and help, yes. But even more than that--I really like them. They are funny and fun, and when they surprised me during my visit to Florida by unexpectedly showing up--the most fun thing EVER. I don't just love them. I like them so much. Add in an incredibly close, supportive relationship with our parents, and you start to get the full picture. What an incredible blessing to have such a close family.

When my grandfather died, our family was in a separate room to the side of the main room at the funeral home. We had lost my grandmother 20 days earlier, and we were in deep, deep grief--grief and mourning that felt too personal to be shared with anyone outside the family. One of the things I will never forget is when my uncle told us that we were the dysfunctional family--that normal American families didn't love each other this much. (He and Daddy mourned deeply--the much, much beloved sons-in-law.) As I've gotten older, I've realized the truth of his statement. Most families fight and argue. Ours just never has. Oh, of course when we girls were younger, there was snipping about this or that. But we were raised to believe something I've probably told my own children three million times--friends may come and go, but your sisters (and brother) are there for your whole life. A friend from college recently lost his brother, and I could so understand his status update about the loss. He said, "One of the weird things about having a tight family is that although it really hurts when you lose someone, you aren't burdened with regrets or baggage and you can rejoice in good memories and the promises of faith and God's word." (Thanks to M.R. Kidwell for allowing me to quote him.) I am so thankful for a relationship without regrets. As I look back over my life, I regret snarkiness and sarcasm, I regret a critical and judgmental spirit, and I very often regret the many hairstyles that have graced by giant noggin over the years. But I never, ever regret the time and energy it takes to maintain my relationship with my sisters. We may not call every day, we may not see each other very often, but I know that out there in the world are two women who have a contract to be my friends always, no matter what. There is great, intense, wonderful comfort in that.

I don't know the recipe for developing close relationships between your children, by the way. My parents raised us to be close, but I've also seen lots of parents who have tried to do that and their adult children have nothing to do with one another. I'm blessed that, even though they have the normal tiffs that all siblings do growing up, my own children continue to develop a close relationship with one another. Wherever you are in the world, I pray that you are as thankful to the Father of all blessings for your siblings as I am, and that you are looking forward to watching the Cotton Bowl tonight, too. Blessings to you and yours!

His,
Kellye