Having a sister makes you happier, more optimistic, more balanced and probably healthier in the long run, says a recent study at the University of Ulster in the U.K.
Why would having a sister make you happier? I don't know, but I do know that I am fortunate to be the center section of three sisters. One is two years older than me and the other is ten years younger. It took awhile for the younger one to catch up to us but by now ten years isn't much of an age difference and we are all on the same page. Well, almost. She hasn't entered the Senior Citizen and Medicare stage yet.
The bond between sisters is different than the one between mother and daughter. Mom is always the older, more experienced one we can go to for advice. But she grew up in a different era and her childhood memories were made at Grandma's house. Sisters grew up in the same house and share the same memories. We can huddle to figure out our way for the future or look back and laugh hilariously as the things we did in the past.
I spent a good weekend with my sisters at the cabin. We go every spring to give the cabin a good cleaning and do whatever maintenance work is needed. We really do need to do the work but it's a good excuse for us to get together and put sisterhood into practice.
This weekend I bailed out my older sister and taught her Sunday school class for her. My younger sister bailed me out and figured out what was wrong that I couldn't sync my new MP3 player. That's what sisters are for.
And then all three of us put out heads together and made tentative plans for a trip to Florida this winter. At this point it's still a fantasy and may not even happen. But we had a lot of fun when we traveled to Europe together in 1997 and to Mexico in 2005. I know another sisters trip would be just as great if everything works out. Time will tell.