T HE ASSIGNMENT is easy–or is it? Fill in the blank: You know you’re a sister when _________.
Cuban-born artist Elsa Mora of Los Angeles, whose provocative work is on view in TSP’s Galleries, puts it this way:
“I realize how much I can help other women who need my help, whether they are related to me or not. I know that I am a sister when I relate to the pain or the joy that comes from other women.”
Blogger Sarah McColl, profiled with her editor sister, Katie McColl Lukens, says you know you’re a sister when, “there’s no one you’d rather do just about anything with. I think Katy knows the most honest version of me–the best and the worst of it–and we still have more fun together than is fair.”
Indeed, says Katie, “it’s like having a low-maintenance best friend.”
Photographer Allison Michael Orenstein, who has another kickoff TSP Galleries show, just can’t help herself when asked the question:
“You know you’re a sister when you’re black (or a nun),” she says (Allison is laughing now, in case you can’t hear it). “A Jewish lesbian girl can’t really say that…
“But seriously, my mother has a great relationship with her sister; they’re really tight, and her sister’s the most important person in her life. Your kids grow up, she says, and your parents pass, but your sibling…”
For artist Amanda Blake of Portland, Oregon, whose paintings are in the TSP Galleries, it’s about our collective past:
“You can’t discern if a memory happened to you or your sister,” she says. A show of Amanda’s paintings, many of them on that very subject, are also on display in the TSP Galleries.
It’s no different if you are a sister to a brother, says photographer Erica Berger, whose childhood photos are on display in the Galleries:
“You know you’re a sister when you cannot look at a photo of yourself alone as a child and not feel like half of you is missing. And that half is your little brother.”
What’s your take? You know you’re a sister when_________________?
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First time here? Here's the idea: TSP is a network of blogs about the many facets of the word sister, and the concept of sisterhood. A sisterhood of sister blogs, you could say. Whatever sister means to you, from identical twin to sister-in-law (or in-friendship or in-feminism), we’ll make room to listen in about it or express it on TSP. Like the slogan up top says, “Don’t you have something to say to your sister?” We've got galleries of art and literature by and about sisters, and a Sisterpedia of sisterly trivia...but now we're getting ahead of ourselves. The quick study: 
As the suffix of its name suggests, 
No surprise, really, that sisterhood, often life’s longest relationship and always one of its most important, has been the Muse for so much creative self-expression by women, and also by men. 
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Welcome, Tracy, and yes, exactly. Fierce is exactly the word. I love your description, and hope that you will come visit us again soon, preferably armed with many sisters. :)
This project is a smart, smart thing.
Confirmation of sisterhood is in the eyes for me. It is wordless. I know I’m a sister when we laugh so hard one of us snorts, or spits a little accidently, then we laugh harder. Or, when we know to pick up the work day slack for each other because our bodies/ minds are tired. Or, when we glance at each other as if to say, “Smells like four-day-old chicken.” Sisters are warm-blanket-blessings, for me.
Welcome, Maureen. Yes, the stuff does tend to emit from nose or mouth, doesn’t it? :) I love the “warm-blanket-blessings.” Thanks for that image, and do stop by again soon.
You know you are sister when, across miles and oceans, you sense your sister’s heart. When despite your busy lives and schedules, and knowing that it is 4 am in the morning where they are, you reach out call anyway, just because you know that they are wrestling with something.
I have two biological sisters who are such giant inspirations to me in many ways, and I have forged sisterhood relationships with untold women throughout the years. But, sometimes a woman comes along who simply gets you and that bond goes beyond friendship and blood to a heart that God knits together with your own.
Welcome, Carikaufm. “Who simply gets you” is the key, yes. Thanks for your lovely comment. I hope we will see you here again soon.
You know you are a sister when, you have to meet a flight from Texas and a flight from Memphis at Ohare airport on the same day to pick up sisters who have come to see just why their big sister has experienced a mental break. And leave only after they are satisfied she will be OK.
Welcome, Joyce E. I love this answer. Incoming sisters! Yes, they do need to come check first-hand on us sometimes, don’t they. Hope all is well, and that maybe you “girls” had some fun in the process while everybody was getting satisfied that all was OK. See you soon.
You know you’ve got a sister when your best friend whips out her tweezers to pluck a hair from your chin and you don’t even mind!
Welcome, Jan. Now that’s a funny one, thank you. Hope to see you soon again.
You know she’s your sister when she helps mend your broken heart. Several yrs ago, I had just had my heart broke, called Liz crying so hard I couldnt talk. She lived 30 min from me and I swear she was at my doorstep in 10. She took me home with her and took care of me. For 2 days she and our big sis Shealean consoled, listened, and had my heart on the mend in no time.
Welcome, Waynette. What a tender sister story; thanks for bringing it here for us to read. (I love the part about how fast she got to your house; my sister can drive like that, too.) See you soon again, and bring your sisters!
You know your a sister when one of your dearest friends forgets your birthday… cause she is always so busy ( or thinks she needs to be)… and although your feelings are very hurt… you understand… forgive and love this friend anyway… and will continue this wonderful sister friendship!
You know you are a sister when you can put all of your own stuff aside and reach out and just sit and listen to what ever it is your sister needs to unload, and for as long as it takes, and then just give her a big old hug.
For me, you know you’re a -little- sister when you are nearing your 30′s and still want more than ever to be just like your big sister. I call it the little sister complex. I proudly except this calling in life. How could it be bad to be like you’re amazing big sister??
You know you’re a sister when you hear the news that she has passed away, you can’t breath, you feel like your limbs have been cut off and you just can’t see how you can ever go forward or what of life matters as she will never see another sunrise or her son’s perfect smile or her husband’s look of love or feel sloppy kisses from her dog and cats. No more chattering about what Mom said or Dad did or whether we will ever see Paris. It’s all over in the blink of an eye and two little words in a text…She’s gone.
Sad, but this is what happened to me in November when my kid sister passed away at the tender age of 50.
You know you’re a sister when you have been friends for nearly sixty (yes, 60) years, when no one still on earth has known you longer, and, though you have lived many miles apart for thirty years, your “soul” sister is still the first one you call with important news, whether joyful or sad.
Welcome, Cathy. Thanks for your answer spanning many decades. Sisterhood is durable, indeed. Hope we see you soon again.
My sisters and I recently moved our mother to a new home. It is an understatement to say mother is difficult, and it was a situation I would not wish on my worst enemy. But amazingly we functioned as a well oiled ‘special forces operation’. When one of us got to the limits of patience dealing with mother, the other would step in for awhile…kind of a ‘tag team’ method. And it was all done with merely a glance or a slight twitch of an eyebrow. You know you’re a sister when…..you’ve always ‘got her back’.
Welcome, Bavaria, and thank you for such a tender tale. Tag team it is. Hope that we see you again soon here at TSP.
You know you’re a sister when you’ve pondered, “Which of us really made the best lap in the family gene pool?” The debate is not just about who got the real blonde hair and bluest eyes (Trish) or the long legs (Pam) or the killer charm (Celena). It’s an impossible-to-answer, ever-changing equation the four of us have discussed and re-cyphered over the years. It’s sister-math. And, it’s funny how the lifecycle has put each of us in the lead lane at some point. We laugh at how Pam’s pert breasts were once highly-coveted – now, they’re all jealous of my peasant-strong bones and low cholesterol count.
Hello, Charlotte; you’re right, the strong bones and good blood levels is sounding great about now, isn’t it? :) See you soon again.
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