I remember writing in my journal a few years ago that one of my goals for the coming year was to spend more time with my family. You know those times in passing where you mean to make an effort in an area of life, then, once written, you forget all about it. You know, similar to New Year’s resolutions that get ignored. I was scrolling through my journal in the last month and saw that lamentation. My heart quickened because, looking over the previous year, I realized that I rebuilt relationships with my sisters that I allowed to crumble in the years I spent building my flower business.
Back then, I was more likely to be seen dancing across a spacious 20-foot tabletop or on a towering ladder decorating an arch in 100-degree heat instead of spending a Saturday with my family. Sadly, I was usually working 17 hours a day.
Despite 18 years of petal pushing every Saturday, my sisters always found time once a year around Christmas to spend part of their day together. We quickly dubbed it Sister’s Day, and we have loved it every delightful year since. The tradition began in 2001, with my oldest sister Kristi suggesting we get together. That year we saw the Oklahoma City “Nutcracker” performance. She created the above ornament commemorating the inaugural event, and we have followed suit every year.
Each year we rotate who hosts the outing. During the assigned year, that sister is in charge of procuring an ornament for each one of us and choosing our destination. We make sure to write the year on each ornament and which sister was in charge that year of coordinating. You would think we would remember who did what decoration, but after almost 20 years, it all begins to run together.
We have traversed all over Oklahoma and beyond for this get together from The Pioneer Woman’s Mercantile in Pawhuska, Oklahoma to Crystal Bridges Museum in Bentonville, Arkansas, to dinner and a movie right here in Tulsa.
Interestingly, there are no rules for the ornaments. They can be hand sewn, handmade, or store-bought. The elaborate felt woodpecker above was hand sewn by my oldest sister Kristi last year. My twin sister Jeni is a knowledgeable art teacher, and she has a colossal kiln in her art room. She crafted the delicate purple snowflake from pottery and fired it right in her classroom.
Seeing these ornaments feels like turning pages in a scrapbook. Every season when I put up my Christmas decorations, unboxing these ornaments feels like turning pages in a scrapbook. Each one has so many memories attached to them, and their story gets retold every year.
Since we have gathered together since 2001, we have been building this tradition for nearly 18 years. We almost have enough of eclectic Sister’s Day ornaments we could fill an entire tree.
Hung in the tree or lined up on a tea towel, each ornament, which is unique and special, points to similar attributes in each sister.
Over pizza, we laughed this year because neither of our parents has blonde hair or blue eyes, yet half their children express that phenotype- go figure. There are seven of us children, including three boys that are not invited to Sister’s Day, and we populate the globe from Tulsa, Sapulpa, Chicago, to France. Life was chaotic growing up, and I always had someone with which to play. We may have been thrown together in one hotel room on vacation (shhhh, don’t tell the front desk), or we squished into an extended van that screeched when you accelerated growing up, but now we choose a sacred date to make time to spend together at least once a year. Sister’s Day is one family tradition that defines us sisters.
I love your Sisterβs Day tradition! Each ornament is special and unique and makes a beautiful tree. I hope you have many more sisterβs dates to come.
I hope we have many more to come too! Especially since the pizza was so good.