The Blessing of Sisterhood

I have to say that of all the many blessings in my life, one of the greatest is having two sisters. I am the oldest of three girls, and we are pretty close in age. When we were little, I didn't think my youngest sister and I were very close in age, but now, as a mom, when I think of having a 3 1/2 year old, a 2 year old and a baby....yikes! That's pretty close. Suffice it to say, the older we've gotten the more that age gap has closed. We are all three very close. In fact, I think both of my sisters would agree with me when I say that we are all equally close. My two sisters have very different personalities. I'm fortunate enough that when I need someone to lean or vent to, or if I just need to cry - I have my choice of two amazing sisters.

Here we are...Mom says it's obvious that she wasn't present when
this photo was taken, or our hair would have been "fixed" .

Today was a crazy day for me. All I can think of is the four papers I have due by next Tuesday. I should be spending every spare minute hidden in my office, but today I'm thankful that my sisters got me out of it. I spent a couple of hours this afternoon going with Megan to the nursing supply store to get her outfitted to be a new nursing mommy. I had so much fun there. First of all, she asked me to go with her and she sort of defers to my advice about nursing, which I really try hard not to exploit (those who know me know that one of my passions is giving advice). Secondly, I got to chauffeur her and Ollie around. Let me just say that he looks like a peanut on a pillow in his little carseat. He is so darn cute! Finally, I got some great female bonding time in with two other ladies who happened to be gettting rigged up at the same time. We had baby chat, swapped tips and stories, goo-goo-gaa-gaa-ed over each other's babies and again - they seemed to defer to me as the expert of the three (which of course, I was very humble about. I only gave them my most precious pearls of wisdom). I felt so special getting to just spend one-on-one time with my little sis and my new nephew.

I went home and then spent an hour and a half calling bus companies for Heather. She's wants to charter a bus for her wedding guests, and like an idiot, I volunteered. I'm the maid of honor (MOH as she calls me) and I just want to make sure that I'm helpful and can relieve a bit of her stress, but I think my procrastination of the project actually caused more stress. It's just so hard for me to find a good block of time where I can get on the phone and be assured that my little angels will be nice and quiet...that there will be piece in our little corner of Eden. Well, today, up against my deadline, I just went for it. Despite embarrassing myself by screaming at the boys while I was on hold and not realizing the sweet lady had come back only to hear my diatribe, I feel like I was really helpful.

The moral of the story is this. Sometimes, the things you dread doing, or the things that can hang over your head or keep you from something that you might think is more important, are the things that God has graciously thrown into the middle of your path. He wants us to slow down and enjoy the many blessings he gave us. At first, I considered the time I spent helping my sisters to be a labor of love. At the end of the day, I realized that they were the ones who helped me. They gave me something to focus on besides myself. They allowed me to show them both in a very tangible way how much I love them. When opportunities like that come (though they may seem insignificant at the time), we should seize them.

I love this picture, because how we look here, is exactly how we are to this day (note that I'm in the middle, with my arm around both girls, as if to "take charge"...what can I say? Some things never change). Thanks girls, for putting up with my "big sisterliness". I promise, I've learned much more from you than you will ever learn from all of my advice!