Sisters

Written 3-6-96

As everybody knows by now, I had six sisters. Counting me, there were seven girls.

As we were growing up, I remember certain things about each one of them that makes us all individuals. I will list them according to their age, and tell excerpts of their lives as I remember them when we were young.

Ruth was not home long while I was home. The thing I remember most about her was that she was our big sister and she always fussed around with us. She directed us in whatever we did. She always decided when it was time to line up to go to the neighbors in a storm, etc.

When she left home and went to live in Canada, I was only 10 years old. I remember the song we were learning in school at that time, entitled "My Heart's in the Highlands, my heart is not here." It always made me cry as I associated it with her leaving home.

Dorothy liked to sleep late in the morning. Mother used to come upstairs to wake her. She would tell her that the doves in the dovecote were already calling, "Lazy Dorothy, lazy Dorothy"! She was also a "neatnik" and spent more time dusting the floor and cleaning house. After she was married, I was always amazed at the way she packed her sons' suitcases when they went off to college. There was a place for everything, and everything was in it's place.

Esther was the stabilizer. She settled the quarrels, and kept all of the younger ones busy, always finding interesting things for us to do. She helped us set up our "housekeeping" and brought us food when we played. I remember coming home from school on a Saturday, finding our rooms all cleaned up and in order. This made an impression on me, as I kept after my younger sisters to hang up their clothes and keep things in order. After she moved away from home, she lived in such far-away places as California, Florida, Canada, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Missouri. She now lives in St. Louis. She married a pastor who, after preaching many years, accepted a job as editor in Concordia Publishing House. After he retired he was no longer an "inhouse" editor, but still works for them. He is now an "outhouse" editor!

Leona was the outdoors type. She didn't mind going outside to do chores and all the other mundane duties there were to do on the farm. She loved to pick berries, and care for a garden. Compared to some of us, I guess you could call her a workaholic! She married a farmer and had found her niche there.

Norma was my side kick. We did everything together, as we were next to each other in age. Things haven't changed much with us. We are still pretty close. Both of our husbands are gone, so we still do things together.

Mildred, the youngest, never was around when it was time to do the dishes. She always had a stomach ache, either real or pretend. I never knew then which it was, but she contends now that it was real. When she couldn't be found anywhere else, she was usually in the outhouse! She also spent a lot of time playing with our cats. She is still a cat lover and still plays with the cats, but now she has her own.

And then there's me! Well, you all know me, -sort of! I fit in age-wise between Leona and Norma.

There are many more things I could tell about my sisters, but these are the things that readily come to my mind. Anyway, there are also many things that are better off if they remain unsaid!! Doesn't everyone have those in their lives?