The Gift of a Sister

In 1981 my brother married a wonderful woman who then became my sister. I already had a sister, but not an older sister. This was a new and exciting event for me. I now had this sister and we did sister things. She became one of my dearest friends. What a gift a sister is! I married 18 months later and then we could really share our lives as we became mothers and wives. We spent hours together talking about our kids and husbands while our children played together. Sometimes those hours were on the phone.

In 2000, she was diagnosed with terminal cancer. I mourned for days and was almost unable to do anything. I was going through the motions as I took care of my family. The following six months proved to take me through every emotion imaginable. There was joy and laughter along with sadness and tears. There were prayers of hope and finally prayers to let go.

Tina has been gone now for nine years. I still miss her very much and always will.

I was blessed with sisters because my brothers married. I never thought I would love these women the way I do. Life goes on when we lose a loved one but it's never quite the same. There is still joy and laughter and at times sadness and tears, but a piece of my heart at times feels empty because of the beautiful sister that's missing.

Thanks to my brothers for giving me these wonderful women in my life.