the sisterhood of the traveling notebook

In 2005, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants debuted in theaters based on the novel by Ann Brashares. The next year, I studied abroad for a semester in London. Rabbit decided that a notebook would be a bit more practical than a pair of jeans to connect us across the pond. In the spirit of the traveling pants, she decided that we would take turns recording our days within its pages. Without Instagram or text messages, we relied on postcards and our traveling notebook to keep in touch.

Fast forward fourteen years. Although no longer separated by the Atlantic Ocean, we still do not share a zip code… yet (fingers crossed one day soon!). Luckily, we are only a phone call or text message away these days, swapping stories as we commute, cook dinner, fold laundry, and wash dishes. That’s the thing about sisterhood - we’re never really alone.

We decided to start The Traveling Notebook as a way to record snippets of our daily life. Looking back, the most endearing entries in the original notebook were those that captured an ordinary moment, made sacred by the act of retelling. For us, words give weight, giving worth to the familiar and the mundane. It is our hope to inspire and encourage one another with small victories - the homecooked supper, the run after work, the Saturday trip to the farmer’s market. After a childhood of milestones - starting kindergarten, trying out for the high school soccer team, going to prom then college - life as a “grown up” can feel a bit… underwhelming and overwhelming, all at the same time. It is our hope that sharing our moments will remind ourselves and one another that, in the words of Annie Dillard, “how we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.”

Photo by Hugo Sousa on Unsplash