i remember racing down the stairs and throwing open the front door. i remember squinting through the early morning darkness for a hint of blue tied to the mailbox. i remember seeing pink.
another sister. i was in third grade and i was already the oldest of three girls. i wanted to see that blue balloon on the mailbox because it was the thing to talk about. “maybe this will be it. maybe you will finally have a brother.” but in reality, i was just caught up in the hope for a boy. it was to be expected with three girls. it really didn’t matter to me. plus, God had other plans. there was that pink balloon, flying high.
fast forward thirty-four years and i truly cannot think of enough words to describe the good in caitlin, meghan, and molly. they are the best people i know and i am blessed they choose to share their lives with me. my cheeks hurt when we are together. inexplicably, a simple look, gesture, or a string of seemingly incomprehensible words is understood. their brutal honesty is brutal, yes, but so very welcome. their opinions matter to me. they are women of faith, integrity, intelligence, and courage. i look up to them. i look forward to their texts, phone calls, and every single time i get to see them, even if i’ve already seen them that day or talked to them five times. there really is something special about my sisters.
i am not sure exactly how march 12, 2016 came to be self-appointed sister’s day, but somehow we all got our husbands/fiancés to agree to it and to staying home with the kids. our original plan was to go to chicago. somewhere in the midst of making plans and sharing lots of opinions {warranted or not} a staycation in indianapolis seemed like a more reasonable bet. meghan proposed time slots. 8-12. 12-4. 4-8. 8-12. somehow, as things are often crazily and confusingly accomplished with us, we each ended up with a designated slot and were responsible for planning the activities during those hours. the fun that ensued needs to be repeated. often and soon.
meghan was in charge of 8-12. if you knew meghan, you would be as surprised as we were that she chose a hip hop class at the Y to start the day. who knew she was a closet-wanna-be-hip-hop-dancer? not us. but now we do. 45 minutes later, during which i could not EVER remember what came next in the routine, i think i was more sore from laughing than from dancing {if that’s what you could call what i was doing. my face says it all in the above pic}. with calories to fill, we headed to a local diner for brunch, and then home to clean up. slot one accomplished.
i am not actually sure who was in charge of 12-4. things often get a little muddled with caitlin and molly. details. i think it was molly. at least it started as molly. we were treated to a tour of her soon-to-be wedding reception site that was hosting the indy urban flea market, which was part craft fair, part flea market, and oh-so-much-fun. can we say free pretzels and mustard tasting? beautiful, hand-crafted jewelry? and indy inspired wood work and apparel? yes please. and it wouldn’t be a day in the life of our sisterhood if ice cream was not involved at least once. this time it was ice cream mixed and frozen right in front of our eyes!
what goes great with ice cream? did you say chips, salsa, and margs? well you read caitlin’s mind because contrary to popular belief, lunch can be eaten AFTER dessert. a short walk to bakersfield to continue our love of food. and dips. and pitchers.
4-8. you’re probably wondering where the shopping comes in, right? with four sisters, it was bound to happen. caitlin’s next idea? a trip to tj maxx whereby each sister drew a name and had $20ish to spend on a shirt for her to wear to dinner later that night. we are nothing if not fun i’ll tell ya.
you might be asking yourself if we were still hungry for dinner, after all the eating we’d already done. the answer to that question is always yes. i was in charge of 8-12 and chose a new restaurant in a tiny little town nearby. i’d heard from friends that it was that kind of place. that hole-in-the-wall place that everyone needs to try. foxtail gardens did not disappoint. from the live music, to the rustic ambiance, to the whisky library {secret, we didn’t see any books}, to the unbeatable company, the night went out with a bang.
there was big talk on the way home of more ice cream and games. that turned into pajamas and goodnights and thanks for sharing the best-kind-of-day day.
sisters. i’d choose pink over blue any day.
