Saturdays With the Sisterhood

Once upon a time, there were three sisters affectionately known as……….”The Sisterhood.” Theirs is a long standing relationship, having been acquainted with each other since the birth of Little Sis in 1965. It is a connection that is unbreakable and as you can see above, on occasion they even dress alike. More importantly, they are united in a dedication to honor their late mother, Betty. Hence the creation of this blog and their Instagram account titled “Betty Would Love That,” because they sincerely hope that Betty would in fact, love what they are doing.

Yes, Big Sis, Middle Sis and Little Sis are a formidable trio, each contributing an important element to the group. Big Sis brings a wise, mature focus, while Middle Sis offers a calming, meditative force and Little Sis creates a fun, carefree vibe. It is without a doubt a special and very productive collaboration. In fact, it is a “magnificent meeting of the minds.” How do they do it, you ask? The secret lies in regular Saturday morning meetings.

Saturdays Are Special….

Because Little Sis is still gainfully employed, Saturdays are the only opportunity for this talented trio to convene. The meeting starts on the dot of 10:00 am (unless Little has a hair appointment or Big’s grandson has a soccer game) when Big Sis kicks things off with a WhatsApp video call.

Before the meeting can begin, however, certain preparations are necessary. Because the meeting can go on for several hours, it is expected that liquid intake is restricted for at least the preceding two hours to minimize bathroom breaks, and that everyone’s preferred beverage is easily accessible (Note: To the envy of Big and Little, Middle’s husband routinely drops bye for a coffee delivery and a pleasant “Hey Guys, how’s it going?”)

And The Meeting Begins…

Big Sis is a natural leader, so it was unanimously agreed that she would take it from here. What follows is a detailed, slightly embellished description of a typical Saturday Sisterhood meeting.

To set a tone of solemnity and mutual respect, the meeting routinely starts off with a recital of the Sisterhood Official Guiding Principles, and Middle Sis leads us in a five minute meditation….just kidding! Whoever can get the first word in, has the floor, however, we strive at all times to maintain a civil and courteous environment, thus throat slitting gestures and nasty comments are frowned upon.

In addition, because we’re a rather chatty group, in the interest of fairness, we’ve developed a unique method to ensure each participant has equal time. To that end, the protocol is to simply raise one’s hand when they have a meaningful and relevant contribution to the conversation. A gentle waving motion is permitted, however, one cannot speak until the current speaker acknowledges them. Big Sis has an unfortunate tendency to stray off topic, and to wave wildly in a frantic manner, hence, our final rule is that one must not deviate from the current topic, and must also keep their wave to a dignified, minimal motion.

So, What Do We Talk About?

Discussions routinely center on the coming week’s Blog post and the corresponding Instagram post. We toss around suggestions for pictures, content and headings to enhance the final product. (Big Sis also has an unhealthy obsession with grammar, so Middle and Little just usually let her run with it.) Middle then affirms that she will publish the Blog and the Instagram post.

Scheduling and the constant need to create new material is usually next on the agenda. Each Sister has a mandated minimum contribution so this can be a lively but productive conversation. Although the Sisterhood is remarkably creative, to date Biscuit has been by far the most popular contributor, chronicling the trials and tribulations of a canine in an ever changing and often confusing human world. Her struggle is real.

And what would a meeting be without precise, accurate documentation? Because Middle is particularly adept at creating charts, she is the official scheduler and keeper of potential topics. Once all of this necessary business is dealt with, however, we’re off to the races. It’s wide open folks!

The Fun Never Ends….

In no particular order, we might discuss life issues. Big and Middle have cataract and bunion concerns, while Little is still dealing with getting to work on time, (from her bed to the desk in the den) and managing Biscuit’s career as a canine influencer.

We trade recipes….not! Middle’s husband is vegan, Little’s husband does all the cooking and Big’s husband is content with a meal of salad and a protein source.😋

Big Sis routinely tries to introduce current political news. She has a tendency to rant, but fortunately, she is highly sensitive to the feelings of others, and able to read the room. (Middle and Little just cut her off when they get tired of it.)

Possibly most important of all, we plan our next 5K walk, placing particular emphasis on reserving a really, really nice hotel and exploring opportunities to act silly. You may be aware that our over arching motto is” We’ll never see these people again,” which in the past has allowed us to freely express our unique sense of humor. In that respect, Mom is our model. She loved to laugh and have fun.

So, in all of this, Betty is the tie that binds. We’ve always enjoyed each others company but Mom’s passing brought us much closer. Regular Saturday sessions to plan, vent, poke fun at each other and most of all laugh 😂 have cemented a wonderfully strong bond. We are permanently and irrevocably there for each other and we know for sure that

Betty Would Love That!

We plan on doing a new blog post every Monday so stay tuned for our next one entitled “What Color is Your Binder?”