The Precious Kinship of Sisterhood

Um…yeah, exactly. I was thinking the same thing when I got my invitation for “Girls Weekend” at my line sister Lisa’s lakefront house in West Bloomfield, Michigan. Now, don’t get me wrong. I was extremely excited about spending some quality time with my sisters without having to play the toilet paper dress game or do the extended remix of the Electric Slide after a first dance. But I know after a few days with my one real sister, I’m tempted shove her off the edge of the bed in her sleep just for kicks, so I couldn’t imagine what type of foolishness would occur when this equation was multipled by 8.

Luckily, any worries I had about the weekend immediately evaporated when we arrived at the house, greeted by personalized name tags on the doors of our respective rooms! How adorable! Resting on our pillows were pink and green duffel bags that contained pyjamas for the weekend, a few girlie treats and a handwritten note from our gracious host. You would have thought Justin Bieber was staying with us for the weekend the way we were squealing like a bunch of teenage girls, and as sappy as it may sound, these little details that had been so thoughtfully planned for us set the tone for what turned out to be the best slumber party I’ve ever been to.

After catching up on each others’ lives over a few bottles of wine, we put on our swimsuits and headed out on the lake behind the house to watch the sunset from Lisa’s boat. Her husband Marc steered us toward unsuspecting schools of fish for those of us who wanted to catch The Big One (this guy had a Garmin fish finder. Who knew Garmin could find trout?) and kept our cups full as we gabbed about The Braxtons, The Kardashians, and other sets of sisters with far more disposable income than ourselves. Our chatter only ceased when Mother Nature told us to hush and proceeded to unveil a sunset so perfect it looked like a movie.

That night after a sinfully delicious meal of lamb chops, mashed potatoes and more wine, we ended up all piled up on one couch in a comatose heap of arms and limbs. Mind you, this house has 4 beds, 5 couches and enough rooms for each of us to have one to ourselves, but we chose to lay on each other on that one couch. Because that is what sisters do. And that is what we did for the rest of the weekend. We got up to watch the sunrise, then got back in the bed and snored on each other. We made breakfast, played Rock Band, then took naps on each other. When it was time for bed every night we’d somehow all end up in one queen bed as if it was the only available one in the house, talking until our words became few and far between, and the domino effect of slumber overcame each one of us.

Between the 8 of us there is a lot of life going on right now, so we also spent a lot of time this weekend doing what we had been taught as pledges over a decade ago, collectively leaning on each other to lessen the weight of each individual whose burden had become heavier than normal. And before you think this post will descend into some greekfest virtual probate show complete with chants, hand signs and poetry excerpts, it’s not about that. 12 years in the game nobody cares what your line number is or the meaning behind your Kryptic line name. Sisters are born from all types of situations and regardless of how they are introduced into your life, there is a priceless emotional connection that transcends friendship. I am so fortunate to have so many women in my life that I can call sisters, but the 12 that I was forced to lean on in college have been an invaluable source of inspiration, encouragement and support for me through the years. I encourage anyone with sisters of any kind to make uninterrupted quality time a priority in your lives. When life, careers, relationships and family throw you curveballs, you will always have your sisters. Never forget that and show your appreciation for these special women with the most valuable gift you could ever give. Your time.