Sister Fun Talk

Somebody please pass the Depends!

I am laughing so hard that I am afraid that I am going to wet my knickers. So is my sister Roma.

So, what set us off this time?

Both Roma and I belong to EphemeralNotions a Yahoo mixed-media arts group. And Roma has been honored by being chosen to be this month's ENAiR ~ EphemeralNotions Artist in Residence.

Terri, our gracious and most patient moderator, had posted a series of 20 statements about Roma, of which only some were true. Members had to guess which ones were false.

Our Fearless Leader had no idea what can of worms she opened! (Or was it a can of Whoop Ass?!)

The both of us hit the keyboards right away, launching a repartee of sisterly barbs and taunts. You know, the usual. Then we would be on the phone, asking each other if we've seen the most recent post, and then laugh ourselves silly when we discussed our responses.

It would often get hard to talk because we would be gripped so hard with convulsive laughter. Even if no one else was having that much fun, we were having a blast!

There really is something to say about sister-sister relationships.

I am truly blessed to have Roma as my sister.

Roma is 12 years older than I am.

When I was growing up, she practically raised me, getting me registered in kindergarten because our mother did not speak English all that well. Roma also fought my battles for me, going to speak to my teachers when bullies would harass me.

At night, I would go to her room and climb in her bed for what we called "Sister Fun Talk."

Roma would tell stories ~ some of them scary. (Which must be why I still enjoy a good scary story.)

And we would play a game called "Wilfred Pickle" (named after the stink pot turtle that Roma got for me as a pet from one of the students at her first teaching job), where one of us would open her mouth, and the other, with eyes closed, would try to navigate her finger into "Wilfred's" mouth.

Silly little game, wasn't it?

As I grew older and went off to college, I drifted apart from Roma. At that point, I felt that she was being too much of a mother. My adolescent rebellion was not directed towards my mother but towards my sister.

After Ariana was born, and several tense years between us passed, our bond renewed itself and emerged stronger than ever.

Sister Fun Talk now resumed at Women's Wilderness Weekend of Rhode Island where Roma presided as Mother Superior over the Sisters of the Mercy Buckets (from one of Roma's student's fractured French for "merci beaucoup") ~ a small group consisting of the two of us and a few of Roma's former teaching colleagues.

Having been raised speaking Lithuanian, Roma and I had a sort of secret language where we would pepper our dialogues with Lithuanian words and phrases ~ sometimes with hilarious results.

Ariana had mentioned that when Roma and I get together we're "scary." Taunts, teasing, and barbs would fly out unabated at an alarming rate. We were a comedy tag team that entertained many an innocent by-stander. And we were masters at our game!

Roma's best friend, Lynne, was also a master of this game. When the three of us would get together ~ WATCH OUT!

Shopkeepers would remember us long after Roma and Lynne returned to their homes in Rhode Island, leaving me with another set of fond memories to cherish and get me through until the next visit.

All in all, this has been a great day of Sister Fun Talk!