Celebrating sisterhood with sister bears
October 31, 2009 by Noreen Crone-Findlay
Filed under crafts, doll and dolls and dollmaking, inspiration
About 5 years ago, my sister-in-law bought a blue polka dot teddy bear at at garage sale when she was visiting us.
photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright
She gave it to me, and I had an idea….
For years,
my sisters in law
had been giving each
other the same
cardboard box
back and forth
back and forth
at Christmas time.
That little box
held many gifts
and many memories.
It got shabbier and shabbier as the years went by, but, it became more precious even, than the gifts it contained.
We all would look for ‘the box’ to see how it was holding up.
Well, when the polka dot bear came in the door, I thought… ‘Hmmmm, what if I make an addition to this bear, and give it back to her?’
I asked Sis if she’d like to designate Blue Polka Dot as a ‘Sister Bear’.
She agreed enthusiastically.
So, for several years, Sister Bear would travel back and forth from her house to mine, whenever she came back to Canada for a visit home. Sister Bear lived with Sis for about 6 months, and then me for about 6 months. Although, sometimes, if visits were more frequent, Sister Bear might pass back and forth more frequently.
Sister Bear became more and more elaborate, as each of us added more embellishments.
Sister Bear made a sad journey back to me 3 Christmases ago, after the death of beloved Sis……
Sister Bear has lived with me since then, and has been the recipient of many hugs, and a fair few tears.
She has begun another chapter of Sister Bearhood, as Jim’s Big Sis has taken Sister Bear home with her.
And now, Sister Bear will pass back and forth between us, and each of us will be adding new touches to Sister Bear while we have her.
Perhaps this is an idea that you and your sister or dear friend would like to adopt…… it’s amazing how precious Sister Bear has become to us.
If you decide to create a Sister Bear, please let me know! I’d love to see pictures.
I’ll take pics of Sister Bear next time I see her. That will probably be next summer…. I wonder what Big Sis will have added. I have plans for my next addition….
Beautiful tradition, Noreen. My sister and I are trying to reconnect – this might be the perfect way to start….
Hi Tammy
Perhaps you could send her the link and see what she thinks? Sister Bear is a very powerful experience for us…. it links we two remaining sisters deeply to each other and to the sister that has passed on…..
I hope your sister will like the idea….
What a wonderful idea. I just moved away from mine and we won’t be able to have our coffees together anymore. I like the idea of the bear. Will just have to fine tune it so that it works for us.
Oh, yes, indeed! It’s all about fine tuning it to make it relevant to you and your sister.
) She may be passed back and forth between you with a bag of very good coffee beans in her satchel…..
Perhaps your Sister Bear might need to have her own teddy sized coffee cup?
Please let me know how it unfolds for you…