(Image is property of the author)
In my first post for Woman's History Month, I acknowledged my Aunt Anna as the most influential and meaningful woman in my life. My sister Margaret is a close second, if for only that we had a noatable stretch of years when we were on different paths.
I also want to acknowledged my two other sisters before I begin. Each relationship was expectedly different, and I love each of them uniquely. But Margaret and I were, as Forrest Gump says, "Peas in a Pod".
She's two years older. She was bold where I was meek. She was athletic and outgoing where I was reserved. She was opinionated where I was silent. But we were always a team, and our personalities played off each other's so well. When we did things together, it was always for fun and adventure. Other family members and friends were for casual fun. Margaret was for thrill-seeking, spine-tingling, heart-racing excitement.
Our lives became very divergent as we passed through teen and early adult years. I was horrible at maintaining friendships, and she was finding ways to get by. When we did reconnect, it was like nothing had changed. We were still buddies. Our personalities and values still meshed better that anyone else I know. We had both matured enough to understand that our love and compassion for each other was eternal. That led to later years when we finally had the talks that put our love for each other in the forefront again, and remained that way until she passed from Leukemia.
The picture is from a last visit with her. She was nearing the end of her life, and I flew across the country to spend some time together. In thinking about what I might do to lighten her load, I remembered just how much she loved hamburgers from the In n' Out restaurant chain. I bought one in a manner that I could deconstruct it, freeze the meat patty, and take it to her to reconstruct.
It took a lot of energy on her part to give us that smile, but it was all genuine. She feasted on that hamburger, savoring every single bite, while knowing her ruined digestive system would revolt later. It didn't matter. She was loving the life she had on her terms.
A short time later, I returned again, this time to bury my dear friend. We'd ended our time together as kindred spirits, and now it was her time to pass, and my time to honor the true saint I'd been blessed with knowing.