We are so different, she and I. But not so much that we don’t thoroughly enjoy each others company and perspective. I make her laugh. She makes things funny. I go to bed late. She turns in early. I like my coffee hot. She’d rather have it over ice. We both love chocolate cake and Pushing Daisies and laughing. Hard. At nearly everything. She helps me not take myself too seriously. I think I do the same for her.
I spent this weekend with her. The men were out of town, so we decided to join forces. Otherwise, we would be in our prospective houses not sleeping, listening for all the killers who were targeting our man-less households. But with all of us together under one roof, we were so much safer. We had each other and all of our six kids ages 10 and under to protect us, after all.
She spent a lot of time this weekend doing what she does…namely, nesting.
She pulled ribbons from cabinets like this to wrap gifts. There are several of them.
She wrapped up some tassels she made and is selling. But first she took photos of them. Then she said goodbye. Then she cried a little. She gets very attached.
She also spent time putting together this centerpiece for a shower. Why all this nesting? No, she’s not pregnant. She’s the Nester (or haven’t you heard?) I kept busy helping her. I worked real hard on this.
There’s something so special about having another person in the world who has the same parents as you. We stayed up talking late one night about growing up memories. It always surprises me that I am surprised when we talk about those days. Because even though we lived in the same house with the same parents and ate the same food, we turned out so different from one another. And we remember it all differently as well.
Family history is becoming increasingly important to me. We don’t have any surviving grandparents so any stories that exist remain with our parents, aunts and uncles. I want to remember to ask them to remember. Because I don’t know what I don’t know so I don’t know what to ask. In other words, it was good to hang with my big sister. Because she has stories, too. Different from mine…they overlap, certainly. But they are different. Just like us.
And I’m happy to report, no killers. The whole weekend.
And completely irrelevant to anything in this post (or in my life, for that matter), Ryan Seacrest just asked Jessica Alba if she’ll be breastfeeding her baby. Live. On the red carpet. At the Oscars. I just don’t think I can handle hearing Ryan Seacrest say “breastfeeding”. From the looks of it, neither could Jessica Alba.
i’m glad you had so much fun together. there’s something about sisters that other people just don’t bring out!
It sounds like so much fun! I think it is so interesting how two people from the same family can be different. My brother and I aren’t alike at all, but somehow that’s what makes it so special. I love hearing his take on situations that I remember so differently.
And SOOOOO glad to hear there were no break-ins. Not so glad to hear about Ryan’s breastfeeding question. That’s just beyond unfortunate.
There’s NOTHING like a sister. I have four of them.
Glad you guys had a great time. And Ryan saying “Breastfeeding” would make me throw up a little bit in my mouth. He’s icky.
I thought I was the only one that imagines a killer on the loose when my husband is out of town.
I love my 3 sisters they make life so much more fun!
P.S. My favorite red carpet moment was with Jennifer Gardner and that strange man that kissed her neck.
what a fun weekend. you make us all want a sister like that. i have one but we don’t have a lot in common.
I have no sisters and am completely jealous! My brothers are great, but they are boys! We laugh about old memories, too, but it is not the same.
I did a presentation today at school about the state of Alaska and my memories from living there. It seems like that was such a different life. Being a kid in 3 feet of snow, sledding with my dad, plugging in the car at night, climbing mountains and making snowcream. Your posts and this Alaska session have made me remember a lot.
Oh.. I missed Jessica Alba with that question! Would have loved to see the look on her face. Later when Jon Stewart was talking about pregnant stars and who would win the baby, I was cracking up!
My sister and I have been spending a lot of time together lately (she moved to my town last summer and is only here for one year so we’re trying to soak it all up). It IS amazing how much we share but how different we are. It’s unlike any other relationship. We’ve just been talking in our Beth Moore study at church about how important family is because they’re the ones God can use to wear down our rough edges. True!!
You wrote about me, Jessica Alba and breasts in the same posts. Why does that make me happy?
Thank you for parking your big vehicle ouside of my house so it looked like it was full of people ready to jump a killer at any moment.
Thank you for letting me give baby Luke his bath.
Thank you for being my sister.
I love you!
When my husband is gone, I sleep with the hammer beside my bed. And a phone–I’m so glad I finally have a cell phone since the batteries in our cordless phones die after half an hour and it would do me no good to try and frantically dial 911 on a dead phone, only to realize it’s dead when the bad guy has finally made it to my room. Actually, maybe I wish someone would break in and take me away for a few weeks, somewhere where I wouldn’t have to change diapers.
Emily, Sisters ARE the best! I love reading your blogs and I’m so glad you found mine too. The comment about Ryan, Jessica, breastfeeding is classic. It just makes me say “Why, Ryan, why?”
You know, it’s a legitimate question.
Just NOT a red carpet question. ha! I don’t know RS’s personality at all, nor JA’s, but it sounds like it would have been a hoot to see.
Glad you and The Nester had a lot of fun. I always wished I had a sister.
Hi – I found your blog from The Nester’s (who I originally found at Today’s Creative Blog), and I just wanted to say that I love your blog title and the song that inspired it.
Hey Emily,
I found your blog through the note you left on Caro’s…small world! I miss seeing you girl!
You are right, sisters are the BEST. Thanks for sharing what you did…family, for the most part, are the ones that you know have your back and will love you no matter what crap they see…cause they’ve seen it for 30+ years (yikes, are we that old??) and still love you! Hope you and the Nester have many more moments!
Sarah Iseley
Your music is so soothing. I could take a nap to it. :0) I love family. I have two sisters. We are all so different as well. But we love getting together and giggling and remembering. My hubby says we get “wierd”. I like to think we get fun. :0)
And seriously…Ryan Seacrest just bugs me. His too big smile, with his fake white teeth, and that horrible way he says, “THIS is AMERican Idol”. Just drives me crazy.
so glad you guys had a good time together. My sis (10 years older than me) is great for calling during life’s disasters, but not so into hanging for those quiet moments–but I do get what you mean about collective memories being totally different. Also get what you mean about being alone–hate it, hate it, hate it! Once got a call at 4 am when my husband was out of town–creepy kid saying he knew my husband was gone. Had to call the police who came over right away and continued to patrol our area the whole 3 days. SCARY!
Thank you so much for the nice well wishes. I’m feeling pretty crummy right now, but mornings are always the worst. I really do feel I’ve made a turn for the better.
Oh, I wish I had a sister, too. How much fun!
I finally caved in and got a house alarm. I just couldn’t sleep otherwise.
We laughed out loud when you said…”There’s something special about having another person with the same parents…”…that is EXACTLY how we feel. We linked to you from the nester’s blog…we think she is truly talented and were delighted so see what an incredible writer you are! What a blessing!
Thanks and have a wonderful day…
kari & kijsa
BTW…we have 6 children between us as well (only 11 and under)!