Shutter Sisters

This Bright Winter Morning

By

The first rays of morning light illuminate their tiny faces as I round the corner of the stairs.

How long have you been holding her like that?  I ask in a scratchy morning voice.

Shhh…she answers.  I think she’s having a bad dream.

I remember when my big girl was a baby herself, when I held her for long hours by moonlight, thinking the dark night would never end.  I remember wondering if my own mother held me the same way, if she stayed awake the way I do now hoping the morning will be happy and bright.

She cries sometimes, wishing for a sister, and I feel guilty, knowing I have three and will not offer her even one.  She cries and then one of her favorite littles comes to spend the night, and she’s in heaven.  The sisterless know better than anyone how desperately we need each other, how everything changes in the company of another whom we dare to call sister, to call friend.

May you wake, dear shutter sisters, on this bright winter morning, knowing how grateful we are for your company, for your eyes, for your lens, for your unique and beautiful way of seeing each other and this beautiful world.  Merry Christmas.

Leave a comment and win the chance to have one more little surprise to top off your holiday season.  Today’s giveaway is the lovely Sisterhood necklace from Blue Poppy Jewelry.

Comments

  3. I am happy and proud to have you all as my Shutter Sisters. You are an incredible inspiration to me and lift me up when I’m down.

    Merry Christmas dear friends..

  17. MERRY CHRISTMAS! & thank you, jen. this quote from emerson came to mind as i read, "there is no beautifier of complexion, or form, or behavior, like the wish to scatter joy and not pain around us."

  21. Thank you for the wonderful site! I love what’s going on here and am inspired by the photographs and posts. Have a very Merry Christmas to all and having two sisters myself, it’s a joyous thing to have!

  23. Lovely. Though I’m clueless since I’ve no sister and gave my only daughter just one measly little brother (according to her.) Big disappointment. ;-P

  26. Sisters are so precious. I have none, but I have given birth to four, it’s the most amazing thing in the world to watch them together. Beautiful post.

  28. I knew as soon as I saw the picture that the comment was from Jen Lemen, and I knew even more when I read the words. You are such an inspiration, Jen, and your daughter is beautiful, inside and out!

  30. Happy Chanukah and Merry Christmas! I hope everyone had a lovely day and enjoyed the fun from behind the lens.

  36. This post reminded me how deeply delighted I am to have two little girls of my own, to each be the kind of close sister I never had. Merry, merry Christmas!

  47. merry christmas! thanks for all your inspiration. i always wished for a sister too, but have learned to make do with my two brothers. 🙂

  55. I love this photo. I lost my sister, whose birthday would have been today, Christmas Day. I miss her terribly but realize that I was blessed to have had her for 38 years and I cherish my memories. I realize now that some sisters are born in our families and some are friends who take on that dimension in our lives. Merry Christmas.

  59. my daughter feels the same! she is sandwiched between two boys. If only i could have given her a sister. Merry chrismas everyone.

  62. I have three sisters, two daughters and they are close with their cousins. My nieces both get the sister fix from the cousins. Merry Christmas, beautiful photo.

  64. Happy Holidays to all and what a great post to remind us to keep loved ones close on this day.. in our hearts or in our arms. Thanks for a wonderful post.

  66. Such a beautiful photo. And I have to say, I’m really touched by the necklace. The pleiades constellation was a special symbol to me and a very dear sister who passed away whenever we were still teenagers. Seeing it reworked in such a beautiful and apropos way makes me happy indeed.

    Have a lovely christmas, all!

  72. This is so beautiful. I am so grateful for many things this morning…to include all of the lovely soul sisters out there in blogland….Merry Christmas!

  75. "The sisterless know better than anyone how desperately we need each other, how everything changes in the company of another whom we dare to call sister, to call friend."
    Yes.
    I have four sisters, but my daughter has none. This statement is so true. In fact, our daughter has been needing her best friend (who moved to NC) so we surprised her and told her today that we were flying her friend here for a week – she’s arriving on Saturday!

  77. My own sister is 1500 miles away in sunny Florida & I miss her so much. Though we talk on the phone almost daily it’s different. Today I spent Christmas with my nephew’s wife’s family and there is nothing as amaing as the bound between women. My nephew’s mother-in-law, his wife, his wife’s sister-in-law and I spent several hours holding babies, playing with toddlers and gushing over memories of the past year. I had made small photo collage prints for each of them compiled of photos that I hadn’t shared during the year. The emotion that filled each of us when the prints were unwrapped was something that can’t be desribed with words. My husband even commented later that he had looked over as they were looking at their gifts and he was taken aback by the intense emotion of it all.

    Though my own sister couldn’t be with me today.. these women and I shared something fantastic. It’s a Christmas I will never forget.

  78. Merry Christmas! I love that photo.
    I received one of the gorgeous necklaces for Christmas — alas, the clasp broke as I opened it to put it on for the first time! So I hope I win…

  81. I have three wonderful, crazy sisters…we don’t always agree and sometimes downright argue…but always the safety net of loving and being loved is there. I am raising four sisters of my own now…the natural beauty of that bond constantly amazes me.

  85. Awww, so precious. And so magnificient that you capture moments like this. What a gift to share when they are older!
    Merry Christmas!

  87. beautiful … makes me ache for a sister that my wee little girl won’t have either …. but her brother is a bestie no question, and that too is so special …

    Merry Christmas!

  90. such sweet words. sisterhood is precious. my sister is on the other end of the country and i wish she were here.

    i’m so grateful for the shuttersisterhood too…

    hope everyones bellies and hearts are full!

  94. PunditGirl so wants a little sister. She has two older sisters — grown-up sisters from my husband’s first marriage. But for PunditGirl, "sister" means a little sister, one who would look up to her, who she could take care of and play with, never imagining the inevitable fights they would have — as I did with my own sister when we were young. If only I hadn’t been firmly in my 40s when PunditGirl joined our family, we might have been able to make another sibling (a sister, in her mind, never a brother!) happen. I am hoping that her big sisters will suffice, even though it’s not what she longs for now.

  96. This really hit home with me. My 3-year-old daughter is longing for a sibling. I have endometriosis, so it was a miracle to get my precious Emmarie. Maybe God will grant us another miracle. We haven’t given up hope.

  100. I too, am sisterless. It took me almost 30 years to find a true friend that has become more than I could have ever hoped for, in a sister. I am thankful every day for the bond we have.

  101. With three sisters of my own, I hold my girlfriends close as can be. Every new town I live in, I look to recreate the tightest bond. Thank you for this touching post. Beautiful give-away as well!
    Martha

  112. I love your posts about your sweet Madeleine. I’m sisterless myself, and always wished for one (although I too, have a lovely younger brother, who — now that I am older — I completely adore). Her sweetness towards the littles is so touching.

  113. Ah, tears!

    I’m calling my sister right now…even though she is probably half asleep and only lives 2 blocks away. Thank you.

  122. Oh that is the sweetest little pendant ever. Looks like the stars in the sky.
    Thank you from one of the sister-less and daughter-less. I love all the men in my life but I hold dear those who I get to call my sisters as well. Merry Christmas.

  124. So beautiful! Merry Christmas to you all!

    I am one of the sister-less. You feel it from the youngest age. How greatful I was to realize as a young adult that I DO have sisters, sisters of spirit. There is such joy in discovering them.

  127. Although sisters can fight like cats, there are quiet moments that make the scratches worth the sting.

  133. Happy holidays (so late for Merry Christmas)! What a lovely picture, made even more touching by the words that go with it.