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!

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