My little sister wants to do a family secret Santa again this year. After all it’s a family tradition. The only thing stopping me from wanting to go ahead with this is that we’re not a family any more.
We’re fake.
When my three sisters and I were born my parents came up with the plan to have all our names start with the letter “S”. Samantha, Savannah, Sophia, and Sandra. Four girls – you can only imagine what it’s like for my dad.
Even with the consonance of our names none of us resemble each other in any way. Samantha (Sam) has always been the one to try taking the lead in trying something new. The athletic one; the one to rebel, the one to speak up, the one we lean on.
Sandra (Sandy) is the youngest of the four. She flows in her own gust of wind and never looks back. The loud one; the random burst of spontaneous laugher, the smile.
Which leaves Savannah (Anna) and I in the middle – two polar opposites stuck side by side. Designed to repel. We’re both reserved in a sense that no one’s allowed to see behind our outer shells. The independent ones; the intellectual ones, the faithful ones. So similar, yet if I could remember the last time I told her “I love you” it’d be a lie.
Sam lives in Chicago now and Anna ‘s at college. Our family of six deteriorates to a family of four every time they leave after a holiday. Each time the alternative family of four comes back dinners become quieter, games nights lose humor, and traditions are dead.
This isn’t my family – where are you? I miss you.
Ahhh but changes in your lives do not make you fake. You are still family, and although it is different, change doesn't have to be bad. I have a very large family, and our holiday gatherings have changed greatly as I've gotten older. I treasure the memories of what it was like before, but I also enjoy the new traditions as well.
ReplyDeleteSiblings always seem to have different personalities - striving to have their own identity, I presume. :)