"It's not that their mother capriciously encouraged one and discouraged the other from following the same path. The order of their birth made going to college a different act for each of them. There is no equal protection clause in the family constitution. . . .
"You were born into the same family. But that's an illusion; it's a different family when each child is born. A sister is like yourself in a different movie, a movie that stars you in a different life. . . .
"If I wanted to be like my older sister, she wanted to be like . . . herself. We all seek to figure out and show the world who we are. Having a sister adds an extra image in the mirror. Understanding who you are means discovering who you are in relation to her. And to find your place in the world, you need to know how close to or far from your sister you want to stand.
"Closeness is the holy grail of sister relationships. I frequently heard, 'I wish we were closer,' but never, 'I wish we weren't so close.' "
I read this article today as I leafed through Sunday's Post and thought you might be interested, particularly if you read You're Wearing THAT? by Deborah Tannen that Mom sent around. (I am still reading it.)
Her latest book, coming out this week, is called You Were Always Mom's Favorite!: Sisters in Conversation throughout Their Lives.
2 comments:
Hmm - sounds very interesting - I will add it to my list. I was talking to someone at church on Sunday and commented that I was certainly grateful that I grew up with sisters!
i never got the "you wore that?" book - i'll check the library
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