In case you missed it, I was over at Exploits of a Military Mama today.  Follow her.  Love her.  She’s a DOLL FACE.  This is my post, edited a wee bit as all blogs are continuous works in progress.

___________________________________

When Mrs. Trophy Wife asked me if I would be lucky enough to guest blog for her, I immediately screamed “YES!” in all caps over Gmail.  Like, dotted with hearts & stars.  Because in so many respects, we are so similar.  Southern to our core.  Over-sharing is our love language.  We heart alcohol & Jesus.  Probably because we both have reflux babies.  & we’re sisters.

Sisters of Alpha Delta Pi.  Different schools, different years, but sisters nonetheless.

May you think we’re not really sisters & that our identical diamond badges don’t give us a bond.  Maybe you’re reflecting back to the drunken sororities of Hollywood.  Animal House, Van Wilder, House Bunny.  The stereotypes are out there.  Perhaps you think we “paid for our friends?”

If that is the case, I can gaurantee it was the best money I spent until paying Harrison’s hospital bill.  Because I gained a sisterhood.

A group of woman, sharing a bond of ritual & goals.  Striving for excellence academically, holding each other accountabe for responsiiblity & ethics.  We swore to protect, nurture, & defend each other.  To love, support, & cherish the ties that bound us in a quest for wisdom and a better life.

A sisterhood in every sense of the word.

Needless to say, I loved my sorority.  I served on the Executive Board for three years & my senior year, I had the honor of chapter President.  I loved the friendship, the camaraderie, the laughs & tears.  It taught me leadership, responsibility, & compassion that was tempered with humility.  & even as an adult 8 years after my first birthday, I still yearn & search for that feeling.  Because I love women & the fellowship women provide in the most heterosexual way EVER.  I LOVE WOMEN.  & I yearn for their friendship.

Which leads me to this…why can’t we mothers be our own sorority?  We already are – we just have to embrace it.  Ritual?  Pregnancy.  Check!  Initiation?  Childbirth.  Check!  So why do we fall flat on the remainder?  Why do we not swear to hold each other accountable with love, to protect & cherish the friendships we make?  Why do we not reach out to other moms, “recruit” them into our sisterhood (as in, befriend them.  not convince them to trick their husband’s into knocking them up.  LET ME BE DISTINCT ABOUT THAT.  the only way that ends is B-A-D).  I’ve been a “lion” in motherhood, holding myself up in arrogance & biting sarcasm that eat another mother in a flash.  I have been guilty in the past of not holding myself accountable as a mother, or cherishing other mothers.  Trust me – it is NOT the way to be.  I have also grown a lot in the past six months.  Birth changed me.  Motherhood & PPD continue to change me.

Mrs. Trophy Wife is still my sister.  She’s my sister in ADPi & she’s my sister in motherhood.  She’s my shoulder to cry on after a bad day of reflux or work.  She’s a warm voice over video or the phone telling me that I can make it one more day & reminding me that our lots are all tough.  She holds me accountable to be a better mother & I strive to be more like her in so many ways.

So, I challenge you…make a sister.  Make a sister in motherhood.  Make two.  Make two hundred.  & cherish the bond we share.