The beginning of each year is special as it brings newness. The holiday season can be exhausting with all the running around between social events, shopping for gifts, and planning and hosting social engagements ourselves. This month allows us to put our heads down and rest for a while, outside the busyness of the holiday season. It also allows us to reflect on the past year – a time when loved ones may have departed leaving us bereft and newborns arrived to enrich our spirits. I experienced both.
January is extra special for Sister-to-Sister, Inc. because it is the month that our predecessor – Sister-to-Sister – was founded. Although 2022 marks 29 years, memories of our first gathering still flood my mind and bring smiles. Huddling together in the family room and kitchen of Sister Sallye McKee, Ph.D. that Sunday afternoon before the MLK Jr. Holiday, two dozen of us were joyful from just coming together in a warm, inviting space where we could be ourselves. Knowing that we were not alone on life’s journey made us hopeful. In unanimity, we agreed that our togetherness in spirit was unique and that it must continue. That afternoon we spoke about what the King holiday meant to us, noting that although we, as Black people had made progress, we still had a way to go. Never did any of us contemplate that the hands of time could be turned backwards. As Sisters, we will continue to celebrate each other as we travel onward.