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There is no one like a sister. My sisters are my anchors, competitors, champions, and knew me better than I knew myself. Who do you fight with viciously one minute and hug tightly the next? Who is brutally honest about the dreadful outfit you wore? Who is upfront about the person you date? Who will always show up no matter the circumstance? Who can you sit in silence and understand each other’s thoughts? Our sisters. When I lost Margie and Jane I struggled with my identity, and realized I am Judy, the middle of three sisters, past, present, and future. The memories of Margie and Jane remain, live on in me, and in the next generations. When I cleaned out my home downsizing to an apartment, I found a box of thirty-three records still intact. I chuckled to myself as I saw the bright neon labels taped to the right corner of the album with our names identifying ownership of Margie, Judy, or Jane. The eclectic assortment from musicals, rock, sixties, and artist ranging from James Taylor, Diana Ross, KC and the Sunshine Band, Seals and Croft, and Chicago to name a few. I learned Margie and Jane were both Carole King fans locating a duplicate Tapestry album. Their age difference of five years surprised me. We each had a turn style and speakers in our bedroom and a larger sound system in the den that housed primarily the musical collection. Before attending a musical, we listened to the tunes. Sound of Music was one of our favorites. Music, like skating connected me to my sisters, and I learned more about my sisters that I thought I lost. Margie and Jane were great dancers and for our father’s fiftieth party, Margie insisted on a disco party, typical older sister being the boss. Our father dressed up in a white suit, like John Travolta, and Margie led the group in a dance step, so typical of her vivacious personality. I shielded away and stood in the back, Jane somewhere in the middle. The photo below is from that party. The “Sisters” song written by Irving Berlin in 1954, and is best known from the 1954 film, White Christmas. The song is fitting as 1954 is the year my beloved sister Margie was born. I watch three sisters I skate with, ages seven, five and three, filled with mixed emotions. The three adorable girls bring back precious memories of my sisters and I skating, some of my happiest memories. When the sisters’ songs play, a tear or two falls out of my, down my cheek, the little girls skate an adorable number, practicing for our spring show. I feel a pang in my heart, but smile. Skating is the chord that forever binds me to my beloved sisters Margie and Jane. Some lyrics of “Sisters” solidify the strong sisterly bond: “Sisters, sisters There were never such devoted sisters… Caring, sharing Every little thing that we are wearing… All kinds of weather We stick together The same in the rain or sun Two different faces But in tight places We think and we act as one… Those who've seen us Know that not a thing can come between us…. All kinds of weather We stick together…. Sisters Sisters…. Source: LyricFind Songwriters: Irving Berlin 
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AuthorJudy Lipson, is the Founder of Celebration of Sisters, an ice skating fundraiser established in 2011 to commemorate the memories of her beloved sisters to benefit Massachusetts General Hospital. Judy has published articles for The Open to Hope Foundation and The Centering Organization. Massachusetts General Hospital and SKATING Magazine featured numerous pieces on Judy’s philanthropic work. Judy appeared as a guest on The Open To Hope and The Morning Glory Podcasts. Her passion for figure skating secured the recipient of U.S. Figure Skating Association 2020 Get Up Award. Judy’s memoir, Celebration of Sisters: It Is Never Too Late To Grieve, released December 2021 by WriteLife Publishing. Archives
July 2024
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