Seven Sisters

I am very lucky to be blessed with seven sisters. (I have 5 brothers, as well, but this post will be mostly about the sisters). We all spent the weekend together in Rochester (MN), to celebrate the fortieth birthday of my second youngest sister. We were also blessed to be joined by my ever youthful mother, 2 sisters-in-law, and 3 of the nieces (of which one was my youngest daughter, but niece to the rest;-}). The youngest niece in attendance spent much of her time at a friend's house or watching movies in her room, as this was an 18 and over ladies' event.

The age difference between the youngest sister and oldest sister is just over 19 years. The age group of those in attendance was 19 to 77, with occasional appearances by the nine year old niece. Currently, all but one sister live in Minnesota, though another will be packing her bags soon in pursuit of furthering her love for music in Austin, Texas. But no matter the age and distance, we can all come together and have a good time when a perfect occasion arises. We share lots of interests, whether it be delighting in the adventures of our children and grandchildren, our love of the various arts, a taste for kitchen delights, or our desire to scout out a bargain. Our world view may be somewhat varied and strongly held for some, so we glide away from some of those subjects during celebratory times. There are plenty of other times to get into heated discussions.

We spent part of our weekend taking in the 100 mile garage sale (Red Wing to Winona), though we only perused a smattering of them. Some of us were doing more looking than buying, but we were all having a good time, as evidenced by the many comments by sellers or other participants along the way. One of our missions, for those who chose to accept it, was the purchase of a "perfect" gift for the birthday girl. Those gifts were opened during the evening celebration and consisted of everything from a vintage 70's print of Jesus with His lambs, a collander/meat grinder lamp, a Mork & Mindy thermos, some 45 records of the seventies, a George Carlin book, a vintage felt Santa's Mail Christmas card holder, some coffee mugs, plus other items I've surely forgotten. Also, a few of us decided we would buy lemonade from all the budding child entepreneurs along the way--I quickly figured that I needed to limit my liquid intake, but luckily, some were selling cookies and bars, as well, so my old bladder could have a reprieve from the lemonade overload.

We spent another chunk of time this weekend in a favored activity: eating...from the awesome home cooked food (best hand-battered onion rings ever and I don't normally care for onion rings) at a tiny restaurant in Wabasha to the Chinese ordered in, to the variety of platters contributed by the sisters: fruit, cheese, and crackers; homemade cheesecakes baked by my sister's friend (Cinna-bun & a caffe-mocha flavor); chocolate fountain with pretzels, chips, strawberries, bananas, sugar cookies, marshmallows, brownie chunks, and even bacon; our family favorite: puffed wheat candy; tortilla chips and dipping sauces; and finally, my dad's contribution to the event and his latest "fad:" homemade peanut brittle and caramel corn. (I probably forgot a few things.) It should be fairly obvious from the above mentioned menagerie of food that most of us possess a sweet tooth.

Most spent some of their energies and calories on sipping wine, margaritas, and other spirits, though I stuck to my diet Pepsi. It seems somewhat unfair, then, that I was the one throwing up Sunday morning (I ended up with a severe migraine and did not remember to pack my Imitrex). Perhaps I consumed a bit too much chocolate and cheese, or maybe I just got too little sleep--all known migraine triggers.

Most of the weekend revolved around sharing stories and reviving and reliving family memories, watching a fun photo DVD organized by a couple of sisters, listening to great tunes, including five new songs written and sung by one of my very talented sisters, giving and/or getting foot/neck/back massages plus parrafin hand dips, and just generally chilling and laughing.

I feel so blessed to have taken part in this great weekend and know that I am luckier than many when it comes to spending time with my family. We truly do enjoy being together, and any differences of opinions and lifestyles are quietly ushered to the background while we focus on the love and commonalities that join us together. Given the great time we had, we hope to turn this into an annual event. I hope we will be making these types of memories for a long time!

Yes, Mary, you can be forty again next year, if you wish!