Sisters

I received this email again today and it's another one of my favorites. Very True!! I sometimes think God gave me some of the friends I have because he didn't bless me with sisters. Insead, He blessed me with these AMAZING friends in my life!!! They feel just like sisters to me. Plus, I am so thankful for all of the wonderful women in my life who have known me since I was a baby, my mom, cousins, and everyone else in between. Love you all!!! - Laura

A young wife sat on a sofa on a hot humid day,
Drinking iced tea and visiting with her mother. As
they talked about life, about marriage, about the
responsibilities of life and the obligations of
adulthood, the mother clinked the ice cubes in her
glass thoughtfully and turned a clear, sober glance
upon her daughter.

'Don't forget your sisters, she advised, swirling
the tea leaves to the bottom of her glass. They'll
be more important as you get older. No matter how
much you love your husband, no matter how much you
love the children you may have, you are still going
to need sisters. Remember to go places with them now
and then; do things with them.

Remember that 'sisters' means ALL the women...
your girlfriends, your daughters, and all your other
women relatives too.. 'You'll need other women. Women
always do.'

What a funny piece of advice! The young woman
thought. Haven't I just gotten married? Haven't I just joined the
couple-world?
I'm now a married woman, for goodness sake! A grownup! Surely my husband and
the
family we may start will be all I need to make my life worthwhile!

But she listened to her mother. She kept contact with her sisters and made
more
women friends each year. As the years tumbled by, one after another, she
gradually came to understand that her mother really knew what she was
talking
about. As time and nature work their changes and their mysteries upon a
woman,
sisters are the main stays of her life.

After more than 50 years of living in this world, here is what I've learned:
THIS SAYS IT ALL:

Time passes.
Life happens.
Distance separates.
Children grow up.
Jobs come and go.
Love waxes and wanes.

Men don't do what they're supposed to do.
Hearts break.
Parents die.
Colleagues forget favors.
Careers end.


BUT.........
Sisters are there, no matter how much time and how
many miles are between you. A girl friend is never farther away than needing
her
can reach.

When you have to walk that lonesome valley and you
have to walk it by yourself, the women in your life will be on the valley's
rim,
cheering you on, praying for you, pulling for you, intervening on your
behalf,
and waiting with open arms at the valley's end..

(Now this is the part that brings tears to my eyes every single time I am reading it because it reminds me of the scene in Sex & The City where Miranda's mother had died, they were at the funeral, and Carrie steps out of her seat-grabs Miranda's hand-and walks down the aisle with her.)
Sometimes, they will even break the rules and walk
beside you...Or come in and carry you out.
Girlfriends, daughters, granddaughters, daughters-in-law, sisters,-in-law,
Mothers, Grandmothers, aunties, nieces, cousins, and extended family: all
bless
our life!

The world wouldn't be the same without women, and
neither would I. When we began this adventure called
womanhood, we had no idea of the incredible joys or
sorrows that lay ahead. Nor did we know how much we
would need each other..

Every day, we need each other still. Pass this on to all the women who help
make
your life meaningful.

SHOULDA COULDA WOULDA

I received this email and I really loved it. First, I loved the title...shoulda coulda woulda. I say this sometimes to my friends and I am pretty sure it annoys them. I learned this lesson a long time ago when I was interested in a guy. I can't remember exactly what happened. I remember we had hung out a couple times and then I thought about calling him to see if he wanted to do something. I told him this a few days later (because I never did call him) and his response to me was, "shoulda coulda woulda." I swear to this day when I say this to someone I think of him. SO TRUE!!! You will get NO WHERE in life if you just "think" about doing something. We have to act on those thoughts. ANYWAY, that's why I loved this email. I decided to post this here because almost everyone I sent it to, and I sent it to LOTS of people, responded back to me-rarey ever happens that I get one response back. You're also going to have to read it with all of the ">" because I started to delete them but let's face it, I am not a very patient person and really don't want to take the time doing it. :)

VERY THOUGHT PROVOKING - NOW IF WE CAN ALL "CHANGE" -
"Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way
to succeed is always to try just one more time." - Thomas Edison

READ THIS VERY SLOWLY... IT'S PRETTY PROFOUND.

Too many people put off something that brings them joy just because they haven't
thought about it, don't have it on their
schedule, didn't know it was coming or are too rigid to depart from their
routine.
>>>
>>>
>>>>I got to thinking one day about all those people on the Titanic who passed up
>>>>dessert at dinner that fateful night in an effort
>>>to cut back. From then on, I've tried to be a little more flexible.
>>>>
>>>>How many women out there will eat at home because their husband didn't suggest
>>>>going out to dinner until after something had
>>>been thawed? Does the word 'refrigeration' mean nothing to you?
>>>>
>>>>How often have your kids dropped in to talk and sat in silence while you watched
>>>>'Jeopardy' on television?
>>>>
>>>> I cannot count the times I called my sister and said, 'How about going to lunch
>>>>in a half hour?' She would gas up and stammer,
>>>'I can't. I have clothes on the line. My hair is dirty. I wish I had known
>>>yesterday, I had a late breakfast, It looks like rain' And my personal
>>>favorite: 'It's Monday.' She died a few years ago. We never did have lunch
>>>together.
>>>
>>>>
>>>>Because Americans cram so much into their lives, we tend to schedule our
>>>>headaches.. We live on a sparse diet of promises we make
>>>to ourselves when all the conditions are perfect!
>>>>
>>>>We'll go back and visit the grandparents when we get Steve
>>>toilet-trained. We'll entertain when we replace the living-room carpet.
>>>We'll go on a second honeymoon when we get two more kids out of college.
>>>>
>>>> Life has a way of accelerating as we get older. The days get shorter, and the
>>>>list of promises to ourselves gets longer. One
>>>morning, we awaken, and all we have to show for our lives is a litany of 'I'm
>>>going to,' 'I plan on,' and 'Someday, when things are settled down a bit.'
>>>>
>>>>When anyone calls my 'seize the moment' friend, she is open to adventure and
>>>>available for trips. She keeps an open mind on new
>>>ideas. Her enthusiasm for life is contagious. You talk with her for five
>>>minutes, and you're ready to trade your bad feet for a pair of
>>>Rollerblades and skip an elevator for a bungee cord.
>>>>
>>>>My lips have not touched ice cream in 10 years. I love ice cream. It's just that
>>>>I might as well apply it directly to my stomach
>>>with a spatula and eliminate the digestive process. The other day, I stopped
>>the
>>>car and bought a triple-decker. If my car had hit an iceberg on the way home, I
>>>would have died happy.
>>>
>>>>Now...go on and have a nice day. Do something you WANT to...not something on
>>>>your SHOULD DO list. If you were going to die soon
>>>and had only one phone call you could make, who would you call and what would
>>>you say? And why are you waiting?
>>>
>>>>
>>>>Make sure you read this to the end; you will understand why I sent this to you.
>>>
>>>>
>>>>Have you ever watched kids playing on a merry go round or listened to the rain
>>>>lapping on the ground? Ever followed a butterfly's
>>>erratic flight or gazed at the sun into the fading night? Do you run through
>>>each day on the fly? When you ask 'How are you?' Do you hear the reply?
>>>>
>>>>When the day is done, do you lie in your bed with the next hundred chores
>>>>running through your head? Ever told your child, 'We'll
>>>do it tomorrow.' And in your haste, not see his sorrow? Ever lost touch? Let a
>>>good friendship die? Just call to say 'Hi'?
>>>
>>>>
>>>>When you worry and hurry through your day, it is like an unopened gift....Thrown
>>>>away.... Life is not a race. Take it slower.
>>>Hear the music before the song is over.
>>>>
>>>>Show your friends how much you care. Send this to everyone you consider a FRIEND
>>>>including me if you consider me a friend. If it
>>>comes back to you, then you'll know you have a circle of friends.
>>>>
>>>>To those I have sent this to... I cherish our friendship and appreciate all you
>>>>do. We have some history together.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> 'Life may not be the party we hoped for... but while we are here we might as
>>>>well dance!'