Nurturing Family Relationships

I totally agree with the late Barbara Bush. And grandparents play a huge role in this. Let's face it, we have the time to do this. We have time for small love notes, texts, and little heart-to-hearts when they come to visit. There are lots of ways to nurture family relationships, and one I found quite by accident.

A few years ago, I was with my grands and was putting my granddaughters to bed. They always bring me a stack of books to read, and one of them was "Sisters," by David McPhail. As soon as I saw it, I knew we had to do a book about my two granddaughters and their sisterly relationship. I think we started the interview process that night. I'm sure you can guess the premise of the book--it was all about how the sisters were the same and how they were different.

That was a couple of years ago, and as we've worked on the book since then...taking photos, adding text....I've come to realize other components of this venture. Both the girls' grandmothers are sisters. Their mother has a close sister relationship with their aunt. I realized we needed to celebrate not just Abby and Emma's relationship, but all the sister relationships in their family. We need to honor these family ties and learn from them. They can make our family stronger and tighter.

So back to our book~

As I said, the girls came over on a later date, and posed for pictures. Pictures that would illustrate what they said in their interview. 

They both enjoy tea parties.

Then I went through the photo file on my computer, and realized those candid shots were really the best, so I'll use some of those for the book.

Emma enjoys quiet activities like painting, writing in her journal or reading a good book.

Her sister is the outdoor type and likes plenty of action!

One sister is in the choir, the other, the band.

I preferred the photos of the girls that I already had in my computer files.

But wait! There's more!!

As I went through photo files on my computer, I also found photos of me and my sisters to add to the book, as well as cousins of the girls who have strong relationships with their sisters. I plan to add their photos as well.

Second cousins who are very close.

More second cousins who have a strong sister bond. My girls have wonderful role models as far as sisters go.

These cousins are so tight (there are five sisters in this photo), they even have a family hand signal. They often flash a "W" in pictures which stands for their maiden name.

And still more!

I plan to add quotes that I've received from these same cousins and others--quotes about the values and benefits of having a sister:

Lizzy - "There are so many things I could say about my amazing little sister, but I'll just simply say my sister is my built-in best friend."

Emily - "My big sister is my absolute best friend. The bond I have with my sister is very special thing that we share. I wouldn't want anyone else to be my big sister."

Lyndsey - "A built-in best friend--whether we like it or not!"

CJaye - "Friend for life!"

Brandi - "Having sisters means having many extensions of my heart."

Beth - "It's the next best thing to having your mom..."

Gigi - "Having big sisters means having special advisors and life-coaches."

A peek at some of the pages in my granddaughters' book~

Example of a book you can publish online.

Perhaps a scrapbook is more your speed.

I have to use this childhood photo of my girls for their book cover. It just captures my heart.

Things you can do~

• You can publish a book using online booking-making sites.
• You can make a scrapbook of photos you have of them along with their quotes about being sisters.
• You can interview them regarding how they are alike/different, and use that material to write an essay about them. Perhaps give it to them on a special day.
• You could start a notebook for them, and encourage them to add to it as they have even more experiences together.

Fun quotes about sisters~

The girls' cousin Brandi sent me several quotes. I thought they were their own quotes from both Brandi and her sisters, but it turns out they are quotes that they've seen and loved. I like them too:

• "Sisters don't need words. They have perfected their own secret language of smiles, sniffs, sighs, gasps, winks and eye rolls."
• "Sister. She is your mirror, shining back at you with a world of possibilities, She is your witness, who sees you at your worst and best, and loves you anyway."

I found some fun quotes as well, and plan to add them to the book:

• "More than Santa Claus, your sister knows when you've been bad or good." Unknown
• "Sisters are joined heart to heart." Unknown
• And this one I received on a birthday card from my sister: "I smile because you're my sister. I laugh because you can't do anything about it."

As grandparents, I think it is up to us to facilitate all our family relationships, and not just sisters. All the relationships within the family and extended family, and not only with books like I've presented here; it can be with phone calls, texts, chats, family get-togethers, and sharing of traditions. The list goes on and on. Let's do this! It's things like this that make our golden years GOLDEN!

This week's blog is dedicated to my fabulous granddaughters and the special bond they share as SISTERS.