Sisterhood of Spring

                      I don’t have a sister, but if I did, I’d want one just like my grandmother had.  

She had four sisters, actually, each with a decidedly different gift. 

Frances, Alice, Mildred

Mildred and Frances

The oldest of the Gordon girls, Alice, was the stern one followed by the second sister, the pretty one, Frances. A birth injury hampered the development of another sister , Janie, but the sister who was my favorite was Susie. Next to my grandmother who had the distinction as the baby of the family, Susie was the most generous, funniest, most welcoming sister, and the sister closest to my grandmother, Mildred. 

Susie and Mildred by the roadside

Mib and Sook, the Sisters of Spring, delighted in each other. My grandmother never said an unkind word about anyone, at any time. Her sister, Sook, said what she meant and it was sometimes barbed, but was usually hysterical, said with the driest of expression. 

Mib and Sook exchanged visits when Spring came and the flowers bloomed. They’d enjoy small parties with neighboring ladies and play canasta or bridge, enjoying a slice of cake and a glass of sweet tea or Coca-Cola. When Mib visited Sook, she’d come home with recipes she had written down, recipes for the desserts she enjoyed, adding the lady’s name whose delight she had sampled along with the  notation, “Grand.”

Mib and Mamie, her cook and long-time companion, made muscadine jelly and plum preserves.  They’d spend days canning Warren (AR) tomatoes and shell pecans from the groves on the lawn of the county courthouse and grandmother’s home place. Peas and beans from Mr. Hagee’s were shelled and snapped, always putting some aside for Sook. When we had several baskets and boxes full of culinary delights, the girls would make arrangements to meet at “The Meeting Place,” a pull-over on the highway between Arkansas and Louisiana, about half-way between, on the road to Ruston.  We’d be overjoyed at the exchange of goodies. Sook would arrive with Ruston peaches, a box of Mrs. See’s Candy, some Southern Maid doughnuts, and perhaps a treat from a neighbor’s kitchen. Sometimes, she’d come home with Mib to celebrate Easter, the grandest treat of all.

MJD, April 1950, Easter Sunday

In anticipation of Easter morning, for weeks ahead of the glorious day, generations of the Gordon family’s mothers and grandmothers dyed egg shells by dipping them into vats of vibrant colors. The egg shells would have the top portion chipped away, and would require drying for several days. These openings on the egg top left just enough room for a hand-fashioned, colorful crepe paper twirled top-knot representing a fluffy bunny-tail. The Gordon girls would fill the eggs with jelly beans, gum drops,candy corn, lemon drops, Hershey kisses, and M&M’s. Then, they’d gently fit the colored topper into the shell, making a distinctive specialty egg for the children’s Easter egg hunt.

Laughter well into the night characterized sister-visits.From my bed on the second floor, I could hear gales of laughter drift upstairs and I’d smile.No telling what tales were being told and I looked forward to the days I could laugh, tell funny secrets, and taste fruit at a roadside stand with my sister.

Just My Nana and Me in her side yard.

Each March, as the daffodils and iris begin to bloom, I recall my grandmother’s side yard filled with blossoms signaling the end to a frigid winter. Fresh flowers filled vases set around the various rooms, welcoming Springtime and the sun as it streamed through the windows. April’s days count to Easter morning sunrise and those specialty eggs which represented creativity, love, and whimsy, all delightful aspects of sisterhood.

Though I never enjoyed a sister by birth, I have sisters of choice who warm my heart and color my days with love. I learned sisterhood from Mib and Sook, the most joyous Sisters of Spring.