Sisters.

Our mothers knew each other before we did.  Our sisters, who are the same age, knew each other before we did.  Peter and I were the last to this family party.

Linda and I have known each other for years.  We've always lived in different (mostly far-away) cities but we've managed to share some family holidays together and then, recently, spent time together celebrating her Mom and Dad's 50th wedding anniversary.  But in all these years, we've never actually spent much time together - just the two of us.  Until this Christmas.

I was so excited when I heard that she was coming.  It was going to be so great for her parents to be surprised to see her, I knew that Peter would treasure the time that he got to spend with her, plus she's the super-cool-funny-aunt-that-laughs-at-everything-my-kids-say so I knew that they would love seeing her.  But I hadn't really given any thought to how her visit would affect me.

I was weary leading up to Christmas.  I had a lot going on and was feeling overwhelmed by some of the things happening around me.  Linda arrived and my stresses melted away.  After everyone else had gone to bed, we would sit up talking - sharing old and new stories of family and of our very different lives.  She was my late night laughing partner and she brought such a special joy to the couple of days that she spent with us.  

It wasn't until after she left that I realized that in all the years we'd known each other, I'd never really spent time with her and, now that I have, I can't wait to do it some more.