Sister Night

I love my family, but I'm not so good at keeping in touch. For one thing, I hardly ever chat on the phone anymore (with either friends or relatives). And somehow it seems tricky to fit visits into daily life. For example:

• My brothers live in FL and CA. Now that IS a good excuse for seeing them less than once a year.
• My parents and two sisters are in NY, so I visit once or twice, usually for Thanksgiving and sacramental celebrations.
• My MD sister is just an hour away, but sometimes it seems like the other side of the moon. We mostly visit when we're trading our matching boys for sleepovers.
• And then there's Len's sister, less than 20 minutes away. If she lived right here in my neighborhood, I'd see her every day, but as it is, we both tend to run in our own busy circles. One thing we have done well is to commit to "Sister Night."

For years now we've taken turns visiting each other once a month (after dinner). We try to go for a walk, then share tea, treats, and talking as long as we can keep our eyes open. Before the night is over we put the next date on our calendars.

Sister Night is now part of the background, the ways things are. It isn't always easy to carve out the time, but it is part of our rhythm and so usually "makes the cut" as far as schedule-writing goes.

Tonight it's my turn to visit. We'll go for a long walk to earn our shortcake, then chat away. For a little something different, we're also having a mini book club meeting, discussing Picking Cotton.

Can you carve out some sister (real or just a kindred spirit) time? Now before school is in full swing is an opportunity to test the waters. You'll be glad you did!