I have three sisters, so I’ve always had someone to play with or—now as an adult—connect with. For example, when I wanted to “play house” I had my younger sister who wanted to play, too. (And I always got to be the mom which was the highest honor). When I moved out of that phase, I had my older sister who let me hang out with her friends (even though I wasn’t as cool as her yet).


And now, as adults, I still know which sister will be the perfect one to go to for parenting advice or general “what should I do?” life advice or “what should I wear?” fashion advice. Now that I’m not trying to sneak a specific top out of my sister’s dresser without her noticing (and having heart palpitations as she’s coming up the stairs because I didn’t know she was home!) or getting tattled on because I had friends over when our parents were away—I can truly appreciate all the amazingness that is having my sisters as my best friends for life.

(I also have a pretty awesome older brother who is one of our best friends, too, but instead of sneaking tops out of his dresser, I had crushes on his friends growing up…sooo, thank goodness for brothers, too!)

But, to my sisters—thank you for being there for me, listening to me whine, and loving me no matter what. You rule.

And here’s why.

My sisters are there for me when I need anything—someone to tell me to calm down, someone to help me choose a lipstick color, someone to give me serious advice, or someone to vent to.

My sisters are always there to tell me if I’m being crazy crazy, way over-the-top crazier than normal or justifiably crazy.

My sisters know where I come from, they know my story—warts and all. There are no skeletons in my closet—they know my secrets and quirks and also, how to push my buttons when they need to. ?

My sisters say things like, “Does this bump on my nipple look weird?” without anyone batting an eye. Nudity never scared us and nothing is too personal or strange to talk about.

My sisters send ridiculous, encouraging, funny texts throughout the day to keep one another occupied—in a group chat labeled “SISTAS ?”, naturally. Their meme/GIF/bitmoji game is strong—and it’s pretty entertaining.

My sisters tell it like it is, and while sometimes I find this annoying, I mostly appreciate the heck out of it. (You can’t always hear what you want to hear, I guess!)

Having sisters means there is always someone around to eat onion dip and watch the Oscars with. (Thank goodness.)

Having sisters means there is always someone around to convince you to do something crazy, fun, or motivational (I’ll let you decide which category Whole30 falls into which my oldest sister convinced me to do with her this month. Jury’s still out…?‍♀️)

Having sisters means there is always someone who will have your back no matter what—they will defend you till the end and they’ll root you on every step of the way.

Having sisters means there is always someone to watch one of the classics with even though you’ve seen them a million times—Now and Then or Drop Dead Fred or Ferris Bueller’s Day Off or Sixteen Candles—and who won’t get annoyed with you for saying every line out loud…because they’ll be right there with you.

Having sisters means there is someone you can show your vulnerable side to. Someone you can sit with when you’re sad and need to ugly cry. Someone you can tell all about how you embarrassed yourself or how you failed. Someone who will listen and make you feel like it actually is all okay.

Having sisters means that they’ll help you into your bridesmaid dress while cleaning baby spit-up off of your body while you’re nursing your newborn.

Having sisters means that they’ll bring over a bottle of wine when your husband is out of town for work and you’re #soloparenting.

Having sisters means you can always count on a solid book/TV show/movie/store recommendation that they know you will like.

But having sisters doesn’t always mean fun and sunshine and rainbows. Sometimes, having sisters means someone to tell you the ugly truth—when you know you’re in the wrong but are having trouble admitting it to yourself.

Sometimes having sisters mean arguing and fighting over something you’re both so passionate about, but always choosing love in the end—even if that means you have to agree to disagree.

Sometimes having sisters means giving or getting attitude or feeling guilty for being mean or feeling jealous because they have something you don’t, but never letting those things ruin your friendship.

My sisters were the maid of honor and bridesmaids on my wedding day.

My sisters were in the delivery room for the birth of my babies.

My sisters brought me champagne and goodies when I celebrated a big milestone at work.

My sisters are the godmothers to my children.

My sisters genuinely care about me and my family and our wellbeing.

Their hearts hurt when mine hurts. Their smiles burst when I tell them about an accomplishment. They laugh at my jokes. They make me feel loved and worthy and beautiful and strong.

They are there for me when I don’t even know I need them to be. They’ve helped me learn about who I am as a woman and they challenge and inspire me to be a better version of myself every day.