So I just set my thoughts adrift. I let them run, unchecked.
Our oldest sister, Clara, and her husband, who spent ten years in Senegal, Africa, as missionaries, were killed in a car crash in 1975. And although she is no longer with us, we all have our own fond memories of her.
My second sister, Evelyn, never married. She is the founder and director of India For Christ, a mission in India, and more recently, the visionary founder of Gospel of Christ Outreach mission. Now in her senior years, unable to travel back and forth from India to Canada, she spends her time recalling on paper, the many stories of the wonderful work God is doing, and has done there, in the land where her heart remains.
A BIG SISTER...LIKE YOU
I'd like to take this special time to sit and reminisce
about the happy times I've spent with you, my older sis.
The memories that I have of you are keepsakes in my heart.
Like golden nuggets, they remain, 'though we are miles apart.
My mind goes sailing back in time to when I started school.
I used to keep my eyes on you, so I could learn the rules.
And it was like that through the years.... You taught me what to do.
One night you gave your heart to God. The next night, I did too.
I followed you in childhood fun: exploring fields and caves;
our horseback rides on Saturdays; our visits to friends' graves.
You were a good companion, Sis, throughout our growing years.
And pain seemed so much easier, when we could share our tears.
But all too soon it ended. Gone were our childhood days.
Our lives had different patterns. We went our separate ways.
The folks in far-off India were calling out to you.
You heard that call, and you became a Sister to them, too.
To many, many hundreds, you, in that far-distant land,
became like a BIG SISTER. You held them by their hand.
They followed your example, too, just like I used to do.
I'm happy that we all could share a SISTER . . . just like you.
But now it’s come to a time in life that you shouldn’t be alone
So you have joined our family. I’m glad you share our home.
You’ve added grace and comfort. You’ve shared our joy and pain.
I’m happy, my big sister, to have you back again..
~~~~~~~\o/\o/\o/\o/\o/\o/\o/\o/\o/\o/\o/~~~~~~~
TO MY BELOVED BROTHER:
We grew up in the forties, and in our house we did not have a refrigerator, just an old icebox. The iceman would come bi-weekly in his horse-drawn buggy and bring us a block of ice for our icebox. But in hot weather the block would never last half a week; so it was my brother's and my job to go to the ice house with Dad's bike (riding double) and carry back an additional ice-block, wrapped in a blanket in the heavy metal carrier. The ice house was two miles away, but a half-mile of that distance was a hill. It was a hot job, pushing the bike up the hill--no ten-or-twenty-speed bikes in those days--but we never minded. We could always flip back the blanket and lick the ice on the way home.
GOLDEN NUGGETS
Reunions are a perfect time to think about each other. . . .
With fondness I recall the fun I had with you, dear brother.
So at this time let us recall some things we did together,
like hauling ice, or paper routes, in hot, or stormy weather.
We shared a bike, and sometimes shoes. You were a great companion
with which to climb the neighbour's trees, discover caves and canyons.
The lonely hours I'd baby sit improved, most definitely,
Whenever you would come along, and we'd play "Monopoly."
Remember that old skating rink, with strings of lights all swaying,
hazy in the frosty air, with crackly records playing;
where young folks from our church would meet after meditation--
at that old battered skating rink, for fun and recreation?
Do you recall the many times our family would gather
in our humble living room to sing and play together?
You and I and Dad played horns; Pauline or Mom played piano;
While Marianne and Ev sang parts, and Clara, sweet soprano.
'Though gone now are those childhood days, our memories have no budgets.
We bank them deep within our hearts, like buried, GOLDEN NUGGETS.
In life I've picked the friends I have, but God gave me my brother.
Had He left choosing up to me, I would have picked no other.
~~~~~~~\o/\o/\o/\o/\o/\o/\o/\o/\o/\o/\o/~~~~~~~
TO MY SPECIAL SISTER
Marianne and I do not live far apart now, but for years we did not see each other. When we get together we always enjoy times of playing the "do you remember?" game.
GENUINE GEMS
I'd like to trip down memory lane, as far as memory goes,
And for a SPECIAL sister, this poem to compose.
Reunions are an ideal time to stop and recollect.
So I just set my thoughts adrift to let them run, unchecked.
Please stop your busy schedule: sit down, relax, repose.
Recall some childhood happenings, and smile at some of those.
Some things you won't remember, Sis. Well, so what! Nor do I.
But we have heard the stories, and our elders wouldn't lie.
Marianne Evangeline: 'tis reflected in your name.
They say that angels brought you. Yes, that is what they claim.
They said you came too early, premature and blue,
And had not angels lingered, there wouldn't be a YOU.
Although you were a pleasant child, so shy, so small, so meek,
You seemed to have a knack of doing things that were unique.
Does mince pie bring back memories about one Christmas day?
You ate too much, and up it came--on me! I have to say.
To some small tots, their mouth is where an object always goes.
But not for you. Instead, you stuffed those buttons up your nose.
And then there was that day at school you saw a frosty rail.
You thought it might be good to taste; so there you stayed: impaled!
And how about the time you fell in a neighbour's dark, dark hall?
You knocked your brand-new teeth out, in that disastrous fall.
Or how about the time you ran amuck, and cut your head?
I know it left its lasting mark: so what is said, is said!
I well recall some pleasant times. These days we'd call them, "Cool!"
I'm thinking of the time we spent as roommates, at Bible school.
I like to keep things stationary, always stay the same.
You'd change and rearrange the room. It drove me near insane!
But all in all, we got on well. Those memories are GEMS.
Some things in life are best forgot. But certainly not them.
First marriage comes; then honeymoon; but not with you, dear Sis.
Still single, you accompanied us. Do you remember this?
With little brother, and a dog, you skipped across that bridge.
Dramatic was the "splash" you made by tripping on that ridge.
And how about mosquito bites? And sickness from the heat?
Our honeymoon, without you there, would not have seemed complete.
You were a "clown" in days of yore. You loved to entertain.
You'd have us all in laughter, time and time again.
But life moved on. You grew mature. We went our separate ways.
'Though memories may linger, our youth we can't replay.
Still sometimes we may reminisce, and sometimes still pretend.
There's one thing that is GENUINE: we're sisters, and we're friends.
I am glad, dear sister, that we now live close enough to see each other once in awhile, or phone each other up and have a chat.
My youngest sister, five years and eleven months my junior, is the only one of my siblings whose birth I can remember. She was born at home, and was to be called "Florence"; however, my parents had cared for a family of four for the winter, as well as for their own five children. The youngest of these children was a baby named "Paul". When our baby sister was born, at six o'clock in the morning on a muggy August day, two-year-old Marianne, insisted that this baby who arrived so suddenly must be "baby Pauly" back again. So, our baby sister was given the name, "Pauline."
Our baby sister had a hard time, growing up. She struggled with near-blindness, due to a childhood illness. At one time it was thought she may become totally blind. Thankfully it didn't happen. She still has her sight. She was a talented child. It was as though she were born, playing a piano.
Pauline's childhood days were cut short, as she was barely thirteen when our mother died. This left her rather like a ship without a rudder. Although my dad remarried shortly after, and all of us older siblings understood his need for a partner, and accepted our step mother happily, Pauline and Marianne did not, until many years later. Pauline struggled through her teen age years, an unhappy child. She married young, had three children, lost her first baby on the eve of his first birthday, due to a heart defect. She struggled through many more difficult years. Her first husband died a few years ago, and she married again. She deserves all the happiness she can find.
A SISTER -- A GIFT Our friends we each may pick and choose; a sister is a gift.
True! Sisters sometimes disagree, but pure love mends the rift.
With sisters we can reminisce on childhood days of yore.
And talk of times that bring a smile, and be a kid once more.
My mind goes to that August morn, when I was not yet six.
Dad brought us to the bedroom door to show us Baby Sis.
I looked into your wrinkled face. How well do I recall!
"What is it, Daddy?" I exclaimed. I thought your were a doll.
I still recall, when you were three that concert you were in.
You looked around; you almost cried, and then you gave a grin.
"I'm much to young to make a speech." You spoke up clear and strong.
You dropped your head. You nearly ran. But still you carried on.
I think of all those games we played: ball, tag, and run-sheep-run.
You joined in with the five of us. You would not be outdone.
Although you were the "little one", and couldn't keep apace,
You never thought of giving up. You'd come in LAST with grace.
I thought about your middle years. You tried hard to excel.
You sang; you learned piano; 'though you could not see well.
You struggled through your teen-age years, without a guiding "MOM.
"
Your childhood days so soon had passed; an adult you'd become.
The years went swiftly rolling by, and sorrows came your way.
You always seemed to weather through; just how? I cannot say.
Perhaps it was those childhood games that gave you pluck and grit.
One thing in life you failed to learn, and that was how to quit.
So now, at this time in your life, may you for once come FIRST.
May all the pleasures you've forgone at last upon you burst:
Joy, Sunshine, Love, and Happiness. This is my wish for you.
A HAPPY LIFE, My Baby Sis. May all your dreams come true.
One of the greatest gifts of life is a sister . . . just like you.
© Helen Dowd
I Love you all. God bless!
