Lou and I are both blessed to have a sister.
No brothers, just a sister each, and in both cases, they are three years older. Lou’s sister lives in Dallas; my sister lives in Michigan. Lou’s parent’s died when he was a teenager; I was more recently left parentless. (My dad died a couple of years before we took off on The Imposition Tour, and my mom died ten years earlier.)
I can’t imagine what it would be like for Lou and me to face our situation (then or now) without having these two supportive women in our lives.
Our sisters are like two angels who lightly hover in our awareness, and, they are both only a phone call away.
The truth is, our two sisters have super powers, too — not stain-fighting of course. Instead, they both have powers that are far more useful to the world than mine. They have the super power of unconditional love.
When my world first started falling apart around me, I knew I could call my sister in tears, and by the end of the call, I’d feel loved, safe, and like I was going to make it. My big sister never runs out of love or empathy for me; and, there have been days when I’ve felt like she is the only lifeline tethering me to God.
The same is true of Lou’s sister. That woman is a genius in the midst of crisis, and she’s saved her brother (and me) so many times that I’ve lost count. Lou’s sister is resourceful, generous, and clever — and a lot like her brother. There is never a situation we can throw at Lou’s sister where she doesn’t have the best idea or the most practical advice to offer.
And even in the early days of our financial unraveling, I always felt like our two sisters were rooting for us harder than they might root for themselves! They were equally invested in our survival, and they both cheered us on in the midst of every one of our comeback attempts.
But I know for a fact that Lou and I have thoroughly stressed out our sisters — repeatedly.
The financial un-doing we experienced was quick and decisive, and the burden Lou and I have been carrying for all of these years is simply too big for anyone outside of God and ourselves to fix. But Lou and I used to joke with each other that we didn’t have any problems that a few “sacks of hundred dollar bills” couldn’t solve!
Then. Out of the blue. Lou started bleeding.
