My Sister
Dear Ann,
I am missing my sister dreadfully now that she has returned to live in Tasmania where she was born, so it probably does not surprise you that I have turned to everything that reminds me of her. I thought it time that I went through again the calendar she gave me last Christmas titled ‘You are one Amazing Sister’. I want to feel that she is still near me & so I read:
Joice and Dawn in 1945
MAY -Â The Story of Two Very Different Sisters
One is here, one lives there.
One is a little taller than the other.
They have two different colours of hair, two very different outlooks on life, two very different views from their windows.
Both have very different tomorrows ahead.
Each is unique in so many ways.
Each has different work to do & different demands on the day.
Each has a different destination & a distinctly different path to get there.
For all the things that might be different & unique about them, these two sisters will always share so much.They will be the best of family & friends, entwined together, through all the days of their lives. Their love will always be very special, gentle & joyful when it can be, strong & giving when it needs to be, reminding them, no matter what, how different their stories turn out.
They share the incredibly precious gift of being sisters.
And when you think of some of the best things this world has to offer, a blessing like that is reality…what it’s all about’.
When Lauren Atherton wrote that she must have been a sister herself to know & understand as it is all true. Then it comes to:
Dawn and Joice at Dawn’s wedding in 1952
JUNE – This is from My Heart You Mean So Much To Me.
A sister is friendship, fun & family all rolled up in one beautiful person.
She’s everything special to your heart, the one to lift your spirits, & the dearest friend you will ever have.
It’s funny that a sister doesn’t always hear how much it means to have her in your life.
I wonder why I don’t tell you more often how special you are to me, but I hope you will always know’.
And on reading this again I hope Joice understood what went unsaid as I said goodbye to her at Newcastle Airport a few weeks ago.
Joice (with Kassandra) and Dawn (with David) at the children’s christening in 1958
It is only my friends who know how much I wanted Joice all to myself in that last hour she was with me. I wanted to hold her to myself & all by myself before I let her go. I am selfish enough to love her that deeply.
And as I have written this, my dear friend Sharon, would understand as I know & have witnessed the love that she & her sister Denise share, It is exceptional & reminds me of Joice & I.
Sharon would be one person who understood how I felt that day Joice left Newcastle & me. So perhaps the next chapter says it better than I could of what I might have said as it would have been something like this:
Joice and Dawn at Joice and John Manthorpe’s Wedding
JULY – Sister I’m Sending You My Love.
Though I may not always say it with exactly the right words (or even out loud) I want you to know it makes me feel good & very proud to have a sister like you.
You know where I come from & you do too & no matter what happens in this world I will always be there for you.
You’ve been my friend right from the start, you’ve got a unique place in my life, days & heart.
Even if we fuss or fight I know it will be alright.
Where I come from you do too You’re my amazing sister & I love you.
And as we turn the page to the next month my calendar only expresses further what I wanted to say before she left:
Joice and Dawn for Dawn’s 80th Birthday
AUGUST – Sister I Want t Thank You.
I couldn’t let another day go by without expressing all you mean to me because you have been one of the dearest hearts I’ve ever been blessed to know.
Your heart has been one that I I’ve trusted with my deepest truths knowing that they would remain both guarded & understood.
Your heart has been attentive to all that means the most to me, listening to me in comfort & support.
Your heart has kept me smiling through all the ages & the stages we’ve passed through & it has loved me without question all the blessed days of my iife.
Today I thank you with love & gratitude for the countless gifts of your heart & trusting in return that you will always find a home in my heart too.
I will not go further with my beautiful calendar given to me by Joice last Christmas but as I read, it expresses so much of what I also feel for my sister & that great bonding came the day God answered my prayer for a little sister. Tears have been in my eyes as I have written this because it means so much to me.
I will miss my little trips to Forster terribly as I loved the little shopping sprees with my sister, but most of all I will miss both John & Joice. The love the three of us shared will be a loving memory.
As Philip has always said “Changes in life are inevitable & we must accept them & embrace them.”
God Bless, My Love Always. Dawn X O X O