1.05.2012

sisters

sis·ter (sstr)n.
A female having the same parents as another or one parent in common with another.

sis·ter·hood (s s t r-h d ). n.
1. The state or relationship of being a sister or sisters. 2. The quality of being sisterly.


sis·ta n.
a sister that is not related to you but seems like she is.
(that's my own definition)


back in june of 2004 my sister left for the convent. coincidentally, my best friend since 2nd grade, also left and entered a different convent one month later. (really what the heck are the odds of this happening????) in one month i lost my two best friends. the two people that i always confided in. the two people who completely knew me. don't get me wrong, i was happy for them and supported them but i felt an overwhelming since of loneliness. i went into a year long depression. i was certain that i would never have a close friend again. i have a hard enough time getting to know people, so the thought of being really close to another woman seriously seemed impossible. i was sure i would never meet anyone who seemed like the sisters that were no longer in my everyday life. little did i know that what i was longing for was already in my life, i just didn't know it.









my grammy took this picture of us and told us one day we would look back on it and laugh. grammy, you were right.

i think this was our last trip to yosemite before she entered. look how little max was!

after my friend rita had been in the convent for about 8 months, she came home. i remember being so excited. i thought everything would be great again. i had my friend back, the depression was sure to go away, right? not exactly. to my surprise, i felt the same. i was stoked she was home and all, but my life didn't change like i thought it would. i came to the huge realization that i was placing all my happiness on other people and circumstances. relying on them to fulfill me. this horrible year turned out to be one of much personal growth and one i am very thankful for going through. it was then that i realized happiness must come from within. maybe i had to learn that before i could really be a friend to anyone again.

rita and i-freshman and sophmores in high school

nicky and i had known each other for a couple of years, but were not instant pals. we saw each other occasionally, but i didn't think we had anything in common. to this day, i'm still not quite sure how our friendship ended up coming about. i believe it was from our daughters? who, by the way, are BFF's. whatever the reason, in 2006ish we started hanging out. as the years went on we were together more and more. i came to realize that we, in fact, had much in common- we share a deep love for chips(all kinds. there's no discrimination here people), crafting, silly movies which usually have will ferrell in them, thrifting and so much more! i couldn't be happier to have nicky as my sista! i have her to thank for many, many laughs! her to thank for having more fun, the dorky, silly kind of fun (which is the best kind of fun there is). her(and erick) to thank for shane (after being around olivia as a babe, ruben and i thought having another baby wouldn't be so bad). and i think she is responsible for me dancing again. ya know, at parties and stuff. i am sooo grateful for her friendship. so, since i have probably never said it to you before...thank you for being my friend nicky! i hope to be as good of a friend to you as you are to me.

we honestly could not stop laughing this night. i'm laughing now just thinking about it!
nic4

nic3


helmets hitting each other=big laughs





thank you for being there for me through the up's and down's of life!

and since i'm on the subject of sisters, sista's and sisterhood, i can't fail to mention all the amazing women i've met through blogging. i never thought i would end up meeting kindred spirits through the internet. all you awesome, creative ladies make me very happy and brighten up my days with your words and pictures. even though i've never met most of you in person, i still consider you my friends. i hope the feeling is mutual :D i guess you just never know what life has in store! one year you think you'll be friendless for the rest of your life, then another year you have friends near and far. crazy!

so here's to a new year filled with friends and sisters new and old, near and far!

♥anne

9 comments :

  1. my son really loved the mustache. he made me scroll back so he could see it again. wow, it's so fascinating to me that two women you are close to, both similar in age, i take it, joined convents. it seems so rare these days. i find nuns really interesting, as i am sure you know. i remember wanting to be a nun when i was in catholic school and in second grade.

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  2. oh anne, this was so beautiful i practically cried. your heartfelt way of expressing yourself, the story of your sister and best friend leaving for their respective journeys, and your own reaction, and then especially your wonderful, invigorating, adorable, frisky and fun relationship with nicky! you two are just radiant. i reallly hope we all get to meet in real life someday. norcal camping trip!?!!

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  3. I couldn't be more touched by a post! Thank you for your kind words and the super fun times, belly laughing at the small things in life. You have taught me so much about life and living. Your faith has been inspiring as has your nutritional goodness. You've got our family on a healthy path, and I love being constantly surprised about what I should quit eating and drinking... hahahahha. Shoot, you got me to quit drinking plastic! (coffee mate- noooo! I'm honored to share the same page as your sister and Rita and in the name of not writing too much on a bloggy comment, I'll just say, I love you to pieces!!!

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  4. omg, so sweet! And those pictures are great. The one of you two as gothic teens is, quite literally, priceless.

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  5. This was a beautiful post....i love that pic of you gals on the horse in your matching shoes!That had me laughing. Best girlfriends....mine is in Australia, and I've missed her frequently since moving back to NZ 12 years ago. You've reminded me to give her a call. Thanks Anne, this was the touch of sweetness i needed in this busy day I'm having.

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  6. I always feel a little jealous when I hear about someone's close, special friendships. I'm envious because the friend I was hoping I could build that with... moved to Rwanda last summer! But it warms my heart too, knowing that I can make new friends, ones I can love and who will love me like you did :)

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  7. You guys are so so cute. I love that I came back to this post, what a beautiful ode to friendship. I can't wait to meet you both some day and see this amazing friendship in action.
    edit: the security for my coment cap is sistai. LOL. Maybe a word for blogger sisters?

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  8. Aw, I love this post! What a sweet tribute to sisters of all types past and present. I totally hear ya on having a tough time getting to know people. I think you and I may have some personality traits in common ;) It makes it all the more special though when we really do connect with someone. This shines through in your post and you and Nicky have such a sweet and fun relationship. I wish you girls were closer, I'd love to hang with you both! We definitely have to arrange a big Norcal/Socal meetup one of these days, that would be super fun :D

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  9. Ah, yay for sisters and sistahfriends! Such a sweet post Anne. I think all women can relate to this.

    That really is unusual that the two people closest to you left for a convent within months of each other.

    I commend you for looking at what was really bumming you out and going within instead of relying on the outer circumstances of your life to feel better. and I'm so happy that you've got such a good girlfriend. I often think about how none of my best friends would have ever come into my life if it weren't for my daughter.

    Xoxo sweet mama sister.

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thank you so much for stopping by. please feel free to leave a comment! i love reading them :)


anne