Celebrating Sisterhood
August 24, 2018
By Amy Coward
My mother, Freddie, and her two sisters – Winifred and Grace – have all lived into their 90s. The eldest, Winifred, only recently died at age 96 so the three of them had many years together, living fairly close by and visiting each other often, sharing their family lives.
My mother’s mother, Willie Mae, and her sisters, Velma and Corrine, did the same. They also lived long, healthy lives, seeing each other often. Longevity apparently runs in the family. At least for the women.
Because of this, my mother’s recent 93rd birthday was truly a celebration. My sister and I drove home from out-of-state and joined my brothers in taking Mom out to dinner. We spent the weekend talking, meeting Mom’s friends, swimming and enjoying being together.
While there, my husband and I were allowed to stay in a guest suite at the independent residential community where my mother lives and it gave us a glimpse of what it would be like to live there. As I walked the halls, I noticed the names of the residents by each door – Mary Lou, Charlotte, Doris, Jen, Rhoda, Bob – at least 10 women to every man. This longevity thing for women is real. (Sorry, fellas.)
I’m sure there are a million reasons for this. Maybe it’s because women are stronger. Maybe it’s because we take better care of ourselves. Maybe it’s because we’re just too busy. Whatever the case, it makes me hopeful. While I’ve lost one sister to cancer at an early age, my other sister and I are quite close and hope to grow old together (with our husbands in tow, of course).
On a nearly daily basis (despite the fact we live in different states), my sister and I are sharing our daily lives through emails, calls and text messages. We share light-hearted things like recipes, books and grandchild stories. We share comic strips that make us laugh and current events that make us cry. We are best friends.
My hope is that despite how old and forgetful we become, my sister and I will continue to do things together. We’ll keep going to each other’s homes for cookie parties and birthday celebrations and make our annual beach trip. If we find ourselves living in a retirement community someday with our names by our doors (although my sister says “no way”), perhaps we’ll email each other to gripe about our latest ailment or the neighbor that gets on our nerves. We’ll share how we don’t really like bingo or the fact they don’t serve grits in the dining hall.
I’m crossing my fingers that this longevity thing applies to us so we can continue to be there for each other.
Like Freddie, Winnifred and Grace and Willie Mae, Velma and Corrine.
Amy Coward is a public relations professional in Columbia, SC. When she is not managing the madness of event planning at Palmetto Health Foundation, she is writing, running and traveling.
