Ewing Sisters

Today was the first real COLD day of the season. Some even say they saw flurries around our area this morning. I hummed Christmas tunes all day. At the supermarket a lady even wished me a Merry Christmas.  During lunch and Felix's afternoon nap I popped in Little Women - one of the classic movies I watch every year when the temperature drops. Since the whole movie is about a family with four girls I inevitably thought about my family and especially my sisters.

It is hard to not compare each of the Ewing girls to the March girls. My sisters may disagree, but I am obviously Jo - funny, writer, a bit impulsive and clumsy at times. Rebecca - though she is healthy as a horse - has a compassion and sweetness about her just as Beth does. Cynthia - more practical and hard working - just like Meg. And Emily - whether she accepts it or not will always be Amy in my head. A bit bothersome to my teenage self but blossoming into an incredibly beautiful and creative young woman. The one thing we all have in common with the March girls is a fierce loyalty to family.

Any one of us would go to hell and back for our other sisters. No matter how many proverbial manuscripts we may throw in the fire. No matter the twists and turns of life. No matter the political differences. No matter the miles that separate us and no matter long stretches between phone calls because life got busy. And if anyone ever hurt one of our cherished sisters we would do whatever we could to protect, stand up for and support and love her.

Which is part of why there has been such a silence here on my blog. I'm not making excuses, but honestly it has been hard to be honest here because so much of what is affecting my life right now, wasn't my story to share.

In July my little sister was attacked and raped at a bus stop on her way to work at a bakery in the wee hours of the morning. It tore at the seems of our family and we were all completely wrecked by the attack. I touched on it here and here, but then I diverted my attention to mundane posts because I wanted to honor the process for my dear sister to share and heal in a way she felt best. Even though she and her new husband are finding refuge in our house as they start baby stepping their way toward wholeness again. Them being under our roof has pulled my heart and daily activities far from where they were before the incident and made it confusing to find what to write.

Today she started a blog called The New Normal and her first post brought tears to my eyes. I'm so amazingly proud of her for beginning to share her story and for her courage to invite others into her healing process, allowing other victims to find her words as medicine for their aching souls.

So here is to story telling. To writing. To honesty. To finally letting the wound get air so it can heal even faster. And here is to my sisters, but especially, here is to the brave, brilliant, and beautiful, youngest Ewing girl -- Emily.