Anonymous quote
I have written about my sisters before, but in case you don’t know, the three of us live in different parts of the world. If we tried we couldn’t be further away from each other. Christine, my elder sister is in Los Angeles, USA; Marianne my younger sister is in London, UK and I am in Wellington, NZ.
We were born and brought up in the East End of London. Some of you may have seen the TV program “The East Enders” but real life was not like that. We lived in a comfortable, loving environment surrounded by parents and relatives. In this we were particularly fortunate as since growing up and moving on I have heard horrendous stories of how people were treated during their formative years. When I read this post on Fatherhood from Misty it made me realize once again just how lucky we were.
As I have said before there was little money around and certainly no luxuries. But we were well fed, clothed and warm and in this loving environment, what more could we ask for?
My childhood memories are good. I had my two best friends always close by and if any one of us was ever in trouble, we ganged together and put up a united front. As Pam Brown says “When sisters stand shoulder to shoulder, who stands a chance against us? “
And so it has always been with the three of us. We live far apart but yet are always there in thoughts for each other. I wrote a poem to my younger sister to tell her (and you) how much I appreciated her. I wrote a blog about both sisters early in my blog writing career. I love and honour them both and wish that we could spend more time together. But it is not to be unfortunately.
I wish that we could share our daily lives with each other. I wish that they could accompany Lotte and me on our walks around this city. I wish that I could introduce them to my friends. I wish, I wish …
But we rely on emails and phone calls to keep our relationship with each other strong. Commiserations to those of you who don’t know the special bond that exists between sisters.
Mother with her three daughters
“We each hear different drummers,
but still find music to dance together.”
Judith Baxter, Sister, friend and confidante
1938 –
Related articles
- Ode to a Sister (growingyoungereachday.wordpress.com)
- City of Sails (growingyoungereachday.wordpress.com)
I choose how I will spend the rest of my life 
Thankyou. 😀
I laughed out loud when I read the anonymous quote at the beginning of this post … Then I went straight away onto Facebook and posted it on my sister’s wall. 😀
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I dont’t which of us heard the quote first but we all love it. Glad you do too.
BTW I gave you a plug in a response to a comment on the post A Different Walk. 🙂
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Judith, I pulled the picture quote and sent it to my sisters via email. I am grateful for my siblings, and your own personal quote brought it all home for me. My sisters and I may hear different drummers, but we still find music with which to dance together. Excellent, Judith.
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It’s a great quote isn’t it. And that quote of mine I use at sign off in every email I send to my sisters. Thanks for the comment. 🙂
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I’m smiling because I sent my youngest sister a birthday card with your anonymous quote on it. I have three sisters and we’re all here in NC so I’m lucky in that regard. This is a lovely tribute to your sisters.
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I wish, I wish ..but we have to make the most of what we have. Thank you for the comment. 🙂
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What a sweet tribute! My sisters are my best friends and, as I get older, I feel more keenly the loss that we didn’t get the opportunity to be in and out of one another’s daily lives. But we live a lot closer than you, and get together every couple of months, so I count my blessings.
Great picture – which one is you?
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Thanks for the comment. My sisters are my best friends and as you, I miss the fact that we haven’t been in and out of each others lives.
We all love that photo of us with our mother. I am the one on her left. Christine, is on her right and Marianne, the baby, is on her lap. 🙂
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I love the final quote from Judith. It is nice that you can stay connected with today’s technology.
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We are so lucky today that the technology is available. It makes keeping in touch so much easier than when I first came to NZ all those years ago. Thanks for the comment. 🙂
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Ah, what a lovely tribute to your sisters, Judith! I can relate to how you feel … I am continents apart from my sister in Zimbabwe, but phone calls bring us into each other’s homes and we share belly laughs! I love your opening quotation – and your own one at the end. I’m going to send both to my sister, if I may? I have a fridge magnet that my sister gave me, which I just love too: “A sister will never let you forget all the dumb things you’ve done over the years”. 🙂
Sunshine xx
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Thank you for that comment. Sisters are truly special and are sent to us to be there whenever we need them. My sisters certainly are. Did you get a chance to look at my Ode to a Sister. This really says it all.
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Oh well you have me crying again. All the things I thought were hidden away have come to the surface again. loved the poem you wote to me I have just read it. Love you lots Judith & also Christine. How lucky am I to have had 2 Big Sisters to look afer me as I grew up. XX
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And my sisters are among the most precious things in the world to me. How lucky was I to have had you, one on either side always. Love you too. 🙂
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I don’t have sisters, so I can’t imagine what the bond is like – I’m glad you are able to keep in touch, even when you’re so far apart.
I like your quote, by the way. Very nice 🙂
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We are very different women but with the same background (obviously) and an unshakeable love for each other – hence the quote.
If you don’t have sisters, do what I did and co-opt one from your friends to be your sisters. I had two here in NZ. Unfortunately, one died but the other is still very much my surrogate sister. 🙂
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This is a lovely, heart-warming post. I only had brothers, but my granddaughters are building relationships with each other that I hope are as wonderful as yours.
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Your granddaughters will need no encouragement to build strong relationships with their sisters. It happens and it is great!
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It’s so important for families to stay connected even when we are separated by miles. Most of my family live close by, my daughter and granddaughter are in another province but we get to visit quite often and spend hours on the phone.Thank goodness for emails and phone calls.
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Hi Laura. It is around half a century since my sister left London to live in the US and so we haven’t even lived in the same continent for so long. But as you say, thank goodness for modern technology.
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Big Sister, here … that’s one of my favourite photos of us. We really are very fortunate to have each other, and to have had parents who loved and protected us. So many people missed out on the good things that we all should have.
God bless, Christine
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Hi Big Sister and thanks for the comment. Yes we were certainly blessed to have been brought up when, where and by whom. Take care. Love J
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