Thankful Sisters

Yesterday my family spent the day at my grandmother's in a remote small town. In fact, one wise family member, who is under the age of ten, mentioned that the town looked exactly like Radiator Springs! We all got a laugh out of that one. My grandmother still lives in her home, that's crumbling apart it's so old, and is going strong.

As a family, we decided to have Thanksgiving at her house this year. It may be the last time we're able to at the age my grandmother is. As kids, we loved to play there. She's got a big goldfish pond in her back yard, which my sister fell in as a kid. Those goldfish are so big and so old...it makes me wonder if they've been around longer than me. My grandmother also had a secret passageway in her home. Well, it's more like to connecting closets that run the center of her home. So this little hallway that led from the guest room to the master bedroom became our secret passageway...a charming little secret we always enjoyed as kids.

It was my son's first time in this little town and at his Great Grama's house. He knew of the secret passageway and couldn't wait to travel down its path. He ran from room to room to take the passage...over and over and over! It was so awesome seeing him caught up in the wonder of something from my childhood. I'm sure it's something he'll never forget.

We all ate the standard yummies until our stomachs burst and then retired to watch football. The boys played dominoes for a while, and then we bust out UNO and had a lot of fun. I won, so my husband decided he didn't want to play anymore...:)

I think the most relaxing thing was sitting on the floor and leaning back into the recliner, where my sister was sitting. I've grown my hair out in the last 6 months, and it's long for the first time since college...circa 1991. (OUCH!) She leaned forward and french braided my hair, which is what she used to do almost daily when we were kids. I had hair down to my knees growing up. I would have to hold the strands out arms length to have them ready as she braided strand by strand, b/c my hair was too long to maneuver.



Not that I'm not thankful for all of my other family...I am blessed to love all of them deeply. But my sister is my best friend, and always has been. She is 6 years older than me, so she always took care of me growing up. She nurtured, babied, loved and adored me when I was little. She taught me and guided me as I grew older. She learned the difference between a second mom and a best friend when I was an adult...and I love her so much.

Yesterday being in a place with all my family made me reflect on how amazing our relationship is and was...and always will be.