sister

My sister called last night. We were on the phone for an hour and a half, because we had to catch up on about three months worth of our lives.

At some point, in our twenties, we lost touch for awhile. She went off to college; I got married. She met her future husband at college and got married after graduation. My husband was deferred, hers went to Viet Nam. During the Seventies, we both moved around, following husbands’ school or work. She had children; I did not. She stayed married; I did not. Through almost all of that, she has been the constant in my life. We’ve both strayed “a fur piece” from our home town and rarely see each other, but we talk. My, how we talk.

Although I think we’re very different, we help each see the other’s perspective. Maybe not clearly, but we offer glimpses. Having a common early history, we can offer fairly accurate appraisals of motivation and reaction. We both tend to take things too personally but in different ways and with different responses.

I wish she was closer, geographically. I know we’d get on each other’s nerves, but the idea of talking, face to face is pretty wonderful.