News Our local \'Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (and Scarf)\'

Pants. An item you would find in your dresser, put on for the day, and not give them a second thought. But for three other girls and myself, there is a special pair of pants that means so much more.

The story starts with my first “sister,” Caitlin. For as long as I can remember I have had her in my life and we have been best friends. Our families went to church together when we were born, and we grew up together.

My second “sister” is Destiny. She didn’t come into the picture until we became friends in middle school. However, we have still managed to stick through high school together and be friends.

My last “sister” is another Destinee, who just so happens to be my cousin as well. I have known her my whole life, but we were never as close to each other until the sisterhood came along.

In the summer of 2010, Caitlin’s family moved to Arizona. But in the summer of 2011, she had saved up all her money to come back and visit us. In those few weeks she was here, the four of us spent all of our time together. We did everything we could to make the best with the time we had.

Now I’m sure a lot of you have either seen or read the story of the "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants." I’m also sure a lot of you have no idea what that even means. The sisterhood is about four best friends who find a pair of pants that mysteriously happen to fit each of them perfectly. As they each take on their different paths in life, they send the pants to each other so that they are are still together, even when they aren’t.

In the last few days of Caitlin’s stay, we decided to create a sisterhood of our own. We went out and bought a pair of sweatpants that we could all wear, we created “the rules” for the pants, gave each of us a name of one of the sisters in the books, and sent the pants off to Arizona with Caitlin. Caitlin is Bridget, Destiny is Tibby, Destinee is Lena, and I am Carmen.

From Caitlin, to Destinee, to Destiny, to me. This is the rotation of the pants and how it has gone for the past two and a half years. After our time with the pants, we would package them up, write a letter about what we did when we had them, and drew something special on them. Over these years we have accumulated letter after letter, and the pants became covered with our memories.

Just recently, the pants brought us all back together. Caitlin came to town to visit, after her sister got married. It was the first time since the sisterhood began that we were all reunited. Once again, we made the best of the time we had together. When it came down to it, we decided the pants had made their mark in our lives and it was time to retire them. We said our goodbyes and ended up buying a scarf to start sending around instead. So we have now become the sisterhood of the traveling scarf.

It has been two and a half years since we started the sisterhood and we have all grown up so much, changed in many different ways, and are all taking different paths in life. From a dancer who is going into photography, to a cheerleader who wants to go into news broadcasting, to an FFA member who wants to be a florist, to a valedictorian who wants to go into psychology. The pants brought us together in the beginning and brought us back together in the end. So, as we said to “start the sisterhood” as well as to retire the pants: "Love your sisters, love the pants."

The Rules of the Pants:

1. You must be the one to take off the pants

2. No ghostly activities

3. No smoking/drugs/alcohol

4. No picking your nose

5. No McDonalds

6. No Swearing

7. No saying you are ugly/fat

8. No washing the pants

9. No thongs

10. Respect the pants always

-- Emily Cashman AKA Carmen