My sister Betsy rescued me several times in my life! The last time was as recent as 6 months ago! I’m celebrating my 60th birthday with 60 days of gratitude for people in my life, and today I’m celebrating Betsy’s “life”-saving deeds.
“I’ll be there in an hour.” Betsy said without hesitation, when I called her from the lodge at Seven Springs Ski Resort. My hiking partner, John, and I had been stumped, faced with an obstacle we were resigned to ending our week-long hike. On our fifth day of winter hiking in Pennsylvania, we stopped dead in our tracks when the trail opened up onto a ski slope teeming with skiers. It was the first snowy Sunday of 2013 and thousands of people had hit the slopes! We were not aware until that moment that the trail literally followed the ski slope for half a mile to the top of the mountain. It was early afternoon and we still had nine miles to go after surmounting the ski slope to reach our required destination. I was not willing to walk up the ski slope and there was not enough time in the day to arrange a ride up the lift to the top of the mountain. We had chosen to call it quits on the trip and see if Betsy would pick us up and shuttle us to our car, thirty miles down the trail.
She came right away! “Where do you want to go? I’ll take you anywhere – to your car, to another place on the trail, wherever you want to go!” John realized that there was a parking lot just a half mile from our original destination for the night. “How about if she took us there?!” he suggested. Done! We didn’t have to abort our trip after all. Betsy’s shuttle put us back on track for completing our walk, and the next two days out in the picturesque snow seemed like a precious gift!
Betsy also rescued me when I abruptly left another adventure in Pennsylvania. I had been working at a church camp with my three children in tow. I had just gotten fired for nursing my four-year old son in view of the teenaged campers. I only had myself to blame because I had disobeyed the directors’ order to nurse only in private by sneaking into the back of the assembly hoping no one would see me. I needed help leaving quickly because I had too much stuff to move away in one carload. My job had been to set up the nature study program, so I had shipped equipment and supplies ahead before the season started. I called Betsy, who said, “Sure. I’ll be there tomorrow morning with the truck. You can come to our place and get everything sorted out.” Done!
It was Betsy who I felt worthy to admit that I would be getting a divorce. She said, “I’m sorry that’s happening. How can I help?” She didn’t say all the things that I had thought my siblings would say.
So, thanks, Betsy, for being the one to get me out of those jams, with compassion, swiftness, and creativity! I hope I can rescue you sometime when you need it!
OH, I am moved to tears of who Betsy is to you. And I can see that the stories I have about my sister are just stories, and I can see how she has been so supportive for many years when I have denied her access to my life. I’ll see my sister next week, and will bask in that there is of sisterhood.
And I consider you one of my sisters as well. We have shared much.
Hugs,
Mary