MA

MA, short for Mary Ann, was six years old when I was born (BJ was three) so during our early years, she and I were not as close as BJ and I were. I always felt like I was the tag-along when I was with her and her friends. And she had many friends! She is one of the friendliest individuals I’ve ever known.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Like any first born, MA was the sacrificial lamb who paved the way for her younger siblings. If Mother and Daddy felt like they had made a mistake with her, they quickly adjusted and didn’t make the same with us. A case in point: MA had a boy friend in high school and they became “pinned” (he gave her his frat pin). When he broke up with her, MA was so distraught that our parents vowed that BJ and I could not become pinned. And we never did, at least not openly. And so it went – MA was new territory for Mother and Daddy.

Also like most first children, MA always wanted to please her parents. She never talked back, she never missed a curfew that I know of, she always seemed to know what they wanted and usually abided by their wishes. I used to get exasperated with her after we were grown because Mother and Daddy never knew she smoked, which she did until her oldest child started to imitate her. (Of course, they found out about me as soon as I went to college.) But MA usually set a great example for her younger sisters.

Today she and BJ are really great housekeepers. They are both so organized and can get so much done. It was MA’s organizational skills that helped her in her career choice late in life. When her children were grown, she began working for a periodontist who was just starting his practice. She was the only other one in the office to start with. Under her management, the staff increased to include many others. He eventually joined with another dentist and she was in charge of running the entire office. There must have been 15 people altogether by the time she retired.

I am so different from MA (and BJ too) that I used to wonder if I were adopted. But all I had to do was look in the mirror and see the resemblance to them to dispel that thought. But they were both so neat! They kept their rooms straight, and they actually seemed to enjoy cleaning house and helping out in the kitchen. They take a perverse delight now in telling people about how I would manage to get out of drying the dishes when it was my turn. I would forego the dessert and be long gone out into the neighborhood when it came time to clean up; or I would start to practice the piano, something Mother was always nagging me to do, and Mother wouldn’t make me stop to help out. I don’t know who took over my chore, (they probably will say that THEY always had to do it), but I don’t know that for sure.

MA and I became closer when BJ went to Germany for a year (see yesterday’s blog). She was married and living in Chattanooga with her husband and two children then. We wrote frequently during that year, and I visited them more than once. As unhappy as we both were to be separated from BJ, the good news is that we reached out to each other and got to know one another as we never had before. She was my matron of honor at our wedding when the genius and I said our vows two weeks after BJ returned home.

Our relationship has strengthened over the years. When all three of us had moved back to Nashville, we began getting together as couples. We enjoyed the experiences together so much that we started to take trips together. We had some wonderful visits to New Orleans, Vicksburg, Richmond, and for many years MA's extended family and mine spent a week together at Perdido Key, Florida.

About twenty years ago, we three couples began spending New Year's Eve together. At first, we really "kicked up our heels" and stayed out really late; nowadays we rarely make it to midnight. But we still have fun.

Once a year, usually in late spring, MA, BJ, and I get together for a night or two at a state park half way between our respective homes. We have a great time discussing the year, old times, and our relationship.

Writing about BJ and MA for the past two days has really brought home the fact that I am truly blessed to have been given such loving and caring sisters. I continue to be amazed at how well we get along and look forward to many more years of "togetherness."