Sisters: Forever Entwined

There were four of us. One was the darkest; one the youngest; one the tallest; one the most petite. Our qualities were measured in relation to one another. There was one who could dance best; the one we thought prettiest; the one who knew most about the world; the one who made us laugh.



There was always a sister around. Never to be thoroughly alone is both a curse and a blessing. I learned from my sisters of the outside world. Who else would outline the way one behaved at a party?


With my sisters I am presumptuous. I feel I know what’s going on in their heads…sometimes I have the sensation of living three additional lives.


I’ve watched my sisters have babies, get married, watched them get awards, diplomas, sacraments. We know one another’s soft spots with the radar of the blind.


Sometimes trust has wavered…we can make one another furious…but our loyalty remains firm.

(Excerpt from Sisters: Forever Entwined/Victoria Magazine; August 1994)


I copied this into a scrapbook for a sister that year, who was in a hospital having surgery at the time. Amazed at the similarities, she too drew the analogies to our own 4-member sisterhood.

And then in 1997... there were three.