The Sisters

I didn't have any sisters (or brothers, for that matter), but my Mom (front left) had three and thanks to that fact of birth, I ended up with some great cousins -- and cousin-kids!
This ATC was from a photo of the four of them at the lake. Mom is in front, laughing, and sometimes I get that exact same look. Crinkly nose, cheeks round and pushed "up" because of the laugh. It's sort of scary, because I can almost hear exactly what the laugh sounds like!

The little short one next to her is Grace, the youngest. Grace had three kids -- David, Patty, and Mary Ann, who is best known as Mutty. They are like brothers and sisters to me, the only child, as we spent so very many of our entire summers together. In this picture, Grace and Mutty could be one and the same. We always thought Mutty looked more like her dad, but one look here -- Whew!

You can't see Iris very well -- she's somewhat covered by my Mom. She's the oldest and the only living sister, now almost 95. If you look at photos of Iris and her daughter Nancy (or for that matter, her granddaughter Mary), the resemblance is uncanny. Eleanor, in the right, rear, died when she was about 40 or so. But her children Jack and Ann resemble her strongly.

This isn't rocket science -- we all look like someone and for a lot of good reasons. But I find it amazing that we can be so like one, so like another, over so many generations.

Looking at this picture reminds me of the strong women from which I came. Most of them worked outside the home. Iris was one of the first women in business in Lansing. Mom taught, worked for the airlines during the war, and managed a dress shop. Eleanor was an artist. I don't know if Grace ever worked outside the home, because she was my grandmother's primary caregiver until her marriage. But they built a strong legacy of independence, compassion, creativity, and hard work which they passed to their children. I'm lucky to be part of them.