The author (center) with her sisters. (Photo courtesy Sharon Christian Aderman)
“Brothers and sisters are as close as hands and feet.” — Vietnamese proverb
Similarities between sisters
My sister Winnie (Linda) came for her first visit here in Topeka, for she now lives only two hours away. We are both talkers. When we got to the subject of my similarities with Julia Child, Win said, “You should write about our sister similarities.”
Mary Eugenia, Linda Marie, and Sharon Elaine, sisters, grew up in a small town, where we were sometimes casually called The Christian Sisters. We were each other’s playmates during out childhood years, sharing good friends and neighborhood friends of all ages.
We fell in love with our college sweethearts, then we were married in the same Methodist church. Each of us became elementary school teachers and mothers, giving birth and adopting one child.
We have all suffered sinus problems, thanks to our mother’s Johnson genes, and we have dealt with foot problems. Mother always painted her fingernails bright red. Mary, Win, and I never painted our fingernails. We all like to mess about in the kitchen, so we mess up manicures. Yes, we all learned to cook at an early age and still enjoy cooking and baking for family and friends.
We did not excel at any sport when we were in school. However, Winnie was a crackerjack peppy cheerleader. Later on in life, we enjoyed a tennis or golf game with our husbands. We usually did more laughing than serious playing of any game, whether it was physical or mental, even when it came to card games. When I finally learned to play bridge, I learned that bridge players never play for fun!
Emotionally and sentimentally, we are on the same wavelength. And we choose our friends wisely — friends who inspire, uplift, and educate us. Over the years, we have even shared mutual faithful friends.
We all love Maine! Some of our most joyous gatherings took place on the Damariscotta River over 33 years of summering there. Even if they had to sleep on the floor, eat at a card table, or share a lobster, they were happy to just be in Maine.
We have all traveled to or lived in foreign countries, Norway is our favorite, for this is the country where we visited friends and family.
As for lifestyles, we differ in some aspects. We have all had our hobbies — Winnie the weaver, potter, and quilter; Mary the musician (cello), line dancer, and photographer; and me reading/writing, watercolor painting, catering, tap dancing, and playing the piano.
Pet lovers? Well, Mary and Winnie have had their share of pets — dogs and cats. As for me, I could write a whole column called “Pets I have known, loved, and lost.”
Sister similarities? Even in the gifts we give. One Christmas, we all gave Mother the same exact red plaid sweater. We still keep a photo of all of us wearing her sweater on our refrigerators.
Food? We all love raspberries. Winnie and I had raspberry patches. She made jelly and I made jam. Raspberries were Mother’s favorite fruit, so all our recipe files have raspberry recipes. Isn’t that the berries? The Christian Sisters have all these similarities, and yet, yes, we are all as different as can be. Thanks be!
Raspberry cream
One package (10 oz.) frozen raspberries, partially thawed; ½ cup powdered sugar; ½ cup heavy cream; 2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice; 1 tbsp. chopped nuts.
Whirl all except nuts in blender until smooth. Pour into dessert dishes. Sprinkle with nuts. Serve cold.
