Today
was the official day for Raksha Bandhan.
I had been looking forward to this for months. It was special. It meant a lot to me, and I wanted to give it
the utmost respect for what it symbolized.
I wasn’t doing this lightly. It
was a big commitment, that I was taking very seriously. I am very discerning when it comes to who I
pick to be my friends. I am even more so
with family.
I
had read that it is customary for the brother to give his sister a gift. Some people give chocolates. Others jewelry. But I wanted to give my new little sister
something from my heart. Something that
would express how much this meant to me.
I researched ideas for weeks until the perfect idea hit me. Typically, the sister ties a rakhi on her
brother, but tradition never said it couldn’t go the other way too. So, I designed and made a bracelet for
her. I made it out of her favorite color
(black), and I tied a charm to the middle of it that said simply, “Little Sis.”
HR
and I met up at work, neutral territory, with my mom in tow as the official
photographer. Okay, she really just went
to enjoy the moment with us, but true to my mom’s nature, she couldn’t help but
snap some picture too! Honestly, there
wasn’t much to the ceremony. I guess I
was expecting pageantry and fanfare, but it really was “here’s your gift,” and “here’s
your rakhi.” She made me eat some vegan
chocolate, but I’m not so sure that was so much part of the ceremony as I think
she just wanted to see me eat vegan chocolate.
Typical little sister!
I’m
not sure how my new little sis feels, but my heart has felt heavy all day. It’s heavy with the weight of responsibility
and purpose. There is now a new member
of the herd to take care of. And no
matter what happens between us or how much distance wedges us apart, that will
never change. She is forever my little
sister.
