Excerpt from “My Lovedance”

AUGUST 13TH

Just returned from the arms of my adopted grandmother. First time I’ve been held since Momma passed. The business of death has occupied my mind. My responsibilities to my patients have occupied my time. More family health dramas have occupied my heart. There is little room for grieving.

As I sit waiting for my beloved to recover from surgery, I ponder the words of my wise friend. “In the wake of your mother’s death, your spousal concerns shall bring you closer together.”

Then I hear the wedding vows we each made…

“In sickness and in health. For richer or for poorer. Till death do us part…Or in the case of my marriage to Steve – until the end of time…

And I think how these same vows were made before birth. To our sisters. We may disagree, yet never fall out of love. We may move thousands of miles apart, yet our bonds are never broken. We may dance to different drummers, yet forever appreciate our uniqueness. Through sickness and in health. For richer or for poorer. Till death do us part. Our sisters, both blood and soul, have always been there, will always be there.

All our drama over the years becomes refined into blessed life lessons. Every one experienced differently, yet lessons all the same. Some grow right away, some take the course again and again, until each of us are a more refined version of ourselves.

Sisters never fail you. They rejoice with you. They grieve with you. They tell you the awful truth and love you even when you are not ready to receive it. They wait for you to figure out life and delight in your growth. They pray for you. They believe in you.

And when you’ve fallen to your greatest depths of despair, they are there to pick you up, brush you off, help you put on your big girl panties, fix your makeup, and face the world.

Momma always wished she had sisters. It broke her heart when we didn’t get along. It brought her so much joy when we embraced each other. We thought Mom was the bridge between us, yet her death has shown us that she stitched us together so tightly that our hearts beat as one.

I love you, dear sisters, more than you know.