Day 34 - Three

January 12, 2015

(This is part of a 365 project during my 70th year about gifts that each day brings.)

Photo by Joseph Ayers

Sisters— Nancy two years younger than I am and Jaymie nine years younger. Today I spent time with them. Like most families, as we married and had our own children and grandchildren, life became busy with an ever-growing circle. My sisters and I always saw one another on holidays at family gatherings, talked on the phone and sent emails. Lately, however, as our father’s health became worse, our communications grew more frequent. Now after his death in early December, we have been spending more and more real time together trying to settle his estate matters. Although the cause is a sad one, our time together is good with shared memories.

As we were growing up, our parents had always been careful about never showing favoritism among their children and that has been a good thing. I can honestly say that I’ve never been jealous of my sisters. Well… just for a brief time I have to admit that I was a little jealous that  when she was 12, Nancy had a boyfriend and I didn’t. After all, I was 14 and I should have been the first to have a serious boyfriend. As it turned out, none of that matters unless you’re a teenager.

I realize there are many families who spend a lot of time arguing after a parent’s death. They disagree about various decisions and money matters. My sisters and I have shown none of that dysfunction. There is genuine love and sharing as we make this journey together. My younger siblings especially show concern for the others’ feelings and they show patience with my impatience at dealing with possessions. There is no greediness among us. In fact, we tend to bend over backwards for the others to make sure no one is cheated.

All this reminds me of how lucky I am to have had the parents I did and to have two sisters who understand the value of relationships.

 

My gift today was spending time with my sisters.

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> DAY 35 First Memory

You can read my other posts on this project here:

http://bjschupp.blogspot.com/2014/12/365-gifts.html