While trying to decide what topic to write about for my last project, the answer practically fell into my lap. I was going to write about the bond of sisterhood. My inspiration was a yearly trip taken by the women in my family, on my mother's side.
The tradition started the year after my grandfather passed away. The women of the family decided that they needed to devote more time to each other. My aunt Lucy owned a cabin and so she suggested that the women get together, out at her cabin for 2 or three days out of the year.
We all agreed, we thought that it would be the perfect way to spend some quality bonding time with one another. The only rule when we went out to the cabin was that there were not men allowed.
So the tale that I am about to tell you is that of the Lima Sisterhood. It all started with Maria Louisa Lima my grandmother, and her three daughters. The eldest is my aunt Lucy. The middle daughter is Julia who is my mother, and last but certainly not least the youngest sister Louisa.
They shared everything with one another, their hopes and dreams and aspirations. There was nothing that they kept from one another; their bond of sisterhood brought them closer than ever.
Every year we would take those three days, when all the women of the family and their children would spend together at the cabin. Being at my aunt's cabin was the time when we women would get to pamper ourselves. We would have deep and meaningful conversations, joke laugh and sign Karaoke.
There was one year however that the trip to the cabin, had an even deeper meaning behind it. Earlier in the year my grandmother had passed away, this time we made the trip in her honor.
We knew that she would have wanted us to continue the tradition of the trip to the cabin. The atmosphere was definitely a somber one at first.
We spent our day reminiscing about the things we loved most about her. The second day was a little better; we were able to laugh about some older stories of previous trips with her. There were still plenty of tears, runny noses and crumpled tissue paper. However along with those, there were also smiles to break them up.
Everyone at the cabin that year agreed that it had been a good idea to carry on the tradition in her honor. We also agreed to keep it going, we did and still do. There have only been a few years when I myself have not made the trip.
One of those missed trips was when I had my first child Kylie.
The next time that a trip was planned, I jumped at the chance to bond with my family again. This time I had the pleasure of brining my first born who was 12 months old and my youngest addition, Cloe who was five months old at the time.
This was also a very special trip to the cabin for me. It was the first trip that I would be able to bond with the women on a motherly level. I was able to bond on the hardships of childbirth, the joys of night time wake ups and everything in between.
There are many different bonds that people share with one another. In my experience however there are almost none equal in importance, than that of sisterhood. During my last trip to the cabin, I got the idea to write about a bond which I had witnessed first hand.
I watched as the three sisters talked about difficult subjects, helping each other make sense of things. I also watched their fierce loyalty, protectiveness and compassionate natures when dealing with one another.
It was easy to see that growing up together. Had been a large part of how the sisters grew to become the women that they are today. Their bond is what, in my opinion, allows them to love one another in spite of their flaws. It is this bond which makes them so fiercely loyal to each other.
When something is done to one sister, it has in a way, been done to all the sisters. When my mother was betrayed by her sister-in laws, her sisters were just as angry as if they themselves had been betrayed by them.
They were all in some ways affected by the events, and it was because of the bond that they share with one another. Now while I have told you of the bond my mother has with her mother and sisters, I have not mentioned the one sisterly bond that I am closets too.
This bond of sisterhood is between me and my younger sister Jessie. We are fourteen years apart in age, she is twelve and I am twenty six years old. Although we are quite apart in years, we are very close with one another.
We too now share our hopes and dreams with each other, just as my mother and her sisters do. Our relationship is not without flaw, we disagree with one another from time to time.
The important thing however, is that we always work things out in the end. We have a lot of fun together, and I always enjoy her company.
While we were at the cabin this year, she and I were able to bond with my children.
This time Kylie was three and Cloe was two years old, and they were able to play with Jessie. My sister Jessie took my daughters to play in the sand pit and the kiddy pool; I actually had the chance to sit back and just observe them.
I learned something then.My little sister, is not so little any more. Jessie is growing up just as fast as my daughters, which is much to fast if you ask me. It made me realize something else too.
I myself am fiercely protective of my own sister and my children; it's just another way that the bond of sisterhood has joined our family closer together. Knowing how I feel about my sister gave me a better understanding of what it must be like, for my mom and her sisters.
I know that we will continue going to my aunt's cabin for as long as we can. We all treasure the opportunity it yields to bring us closer to my grandmother. One of my greatest joys is, knowing that my daughters will grow up with one of the most joyous bonds life has to offer, the bond of Sisterhood.
They too will grow up with a best friend who they can talk to about anything, to share their own hopes and dreams with and who no matter what happens, will not judge them.
I am proud to be part of the Lima family and I am proud that my daughters will have such strong female role models to learn from. It makes me confident that they will go far in life.
It also makes me happy to know that they will understand how their mother came to be the women she is today.
I can only tell others to treasure the bonds they share with one another, live each moment knowing that you are important to them.
Treat them as if it were your last day with them, because life is too short and you never know how long things will last.