The bonds of sisterhood

The bonds of sisterhood are wonderful and weird at the same time. I have one sister...thats it. No brothers. When we were growing up together (at only 16 months apart) we played together and also hated each other. We were complete opposites. My sister didn't like being hugged and touched, I craved it. My sister played with dinosaurs and horse statues. I played with barbies and baby dolls. When we got older, my sister was a definite "hippie" type and I was a band nerd and super geek. But we also had things in common. We both sang and played musical instruments. In fact, one of my most treasured memories is playing the recorders together and struggling through "Awake thou Wintry Earth" and also me playing guitar and Sue playing piano and ripping it up playing "Classical Gas".....that was SO fun. One thing that my sister was obsessive about was getting a horse. She wanted one SO badly but financially my family just couldn't swing it. So finally when she was in 8th grade, my parents got her a dog named Sonny. They had a wonderful bond, but of course, my sister grew up, got married, moved, then divorced etc. The dog stayed at my mom's. So as much as my sister would have loved to have the dog with her, it wasn't feasible. So after a time, she got her very first Sheltie....her first dog that was totally hers....Dusty. I remember going with her picking him out here in Santa Rosa. A whole barn full of little Sheltie furballs. What fun that was. She picked out this little guy and those two were on their own. That was 17 years ago. Two days ago she finally had him put to sleep. Of course she cried, but the weird thing was: I cried. A lot. I never lived with this dog or anything and my sister has lived in Missouri for the last 11 years. I hardly ever get to see this dog or have any bond with him, really....except that my sister was sad....which makes ME sad. See how this bond thing works? When she weeps, I weep and vice versa. When she is happy, so am I. When she feels scared, I get scared and sometimes we don't even know it. She will just call me with some sort of feeling that she has and oddly, I will be having that same feeling. So when I found out that she finally had to put her precious first Sheltie to sleep I started to cry and pretty much kept crying throughout the day. Silly? maybe. But its a sister bond that I cherish. Dusty, you were a very special dog to my sister, and apparently to me too. Because you were a part of my sister and a part of her heart....therefore you were a part of mine too. See how life is? We are all connected on this earth. I love you my sister. We are a part of each other. Its the bond of sisterhood.