33 is the year that Jesus Christ embraced His life... ...Wasn't he crucified at 33, I ask, depressed, deserted by his friends, divorced from god, sub… - Julia Alvarez

I say, Don't trust those men with better,
bigger versions of love if they refuse
the small, shabby sample they gave others
the tribute of believing it was true.

Even though they’re that unit of four sisters, they’re also individuals. One will find her way of integrating that transition or failing at it, but I think that throughout, the telling of stories – the mother tells stories, the father tells stories and the daughters tell stories to each other – becomes the string in the labyrinth for them. Storytelling. Stories create meaning and structure out of the chaos. They are a blueprint for experience. I think that is part of how they’re all helped, some more successfully than others.

threading her needles, winding her threads;
the spools sat in their rods in the sewing box,
ends tucked in the notch on the flat tops,
a palette of greens, laurel, mint, olive, aquamarine,
shorts, skirts, blouses, dresses, and nightgowns—
better than storebought.