My Sister

In my high school's chapel, there's a painting on one wall that I remember well. In the picture, St. Benedict and St. Scholastica (the saint my high school was named after) sit across from each other at a table. In back of the table, a window shows that there is a storm raging outside. As the story goes, St. Scholastica and St. Benedict were twins. But they only got to see each other once a year, as they each had duties at the monastery (St. Benedict) or convent (St. Scholastica). One night, when they were involved in a great conversation, St. Scholastica didn't want her brother to leave. So she bent her head and said a prayer for a storm to keep her brother there for another night. It worked, and they got to talk longer. I think about this picture when I'm with my siblings. I wish that I could somehow lengthen the time we're together.

I went to visit my sister Mickey last week. One of the main reasons I went was to see her second-grade classroom and observe her teach. But like all other times we're together, we spent most of the time talking and catching up. We usually talk several times a week on the phone, but it's so much better when we're in person. From the time I got there, to the time I left 2 days later, there was rarely a pause in our talking.

Our relationship has grown over the years from that of sisters to that of friends. And now that we're both in the same profession, we've added teacher talk to our conversations. There's a lot of give and take in our relationships. Because we're similar in many ways, but still different in others, we can give and take advice and see things from different perspectives. We rely on each other to vent, mull things over, or offer some humor to lighten a situation.

Even though we get to see each other more than once a year, I still value our time together. That's why I thought of St. Benedict and St. Scholastica as I left her house to come home. I would have loved to have more time to continue talking. Unfortunately, we both had things we needed to get done and I had to go home. And wouldn't you know, a snowstorm appeared a day later. Maybe next time.