I grew up with brothers, three of them, not a single girl child in our house when we were children.

Oh, I had girls who were my best friends, lots of them who became like sisters to me, and there have been others across the years.

You have probably heard the term “brothers from another mother,” men who are not related, but grow to think of each other as brothers.

I have met a couple of them in my time, but today let’s hear it for the girls, those “sisters from another mother” who make my life worth living every day.

This is the story of two of them.

Chris and I just got back from a lovely trip to Las Vegas, the perfect time to be there because the crowds were not as large as they are in the summer and the temperature around the pool was warm enough to enjoy, but not sweltering. For weeks, I have been excited about seeing Celine Dion, who is back in residence at Caesar’s Palace.

When we got to the Denver airport, we learned our flight to Vegas was delayed six hours.

We were already cutting it close, and with the additional delay, we would not make the concert.

I know I’m too old to cry over such things, but we were close to tears. Just in time, Chris became inventive and booked us on another airline.

We coasted into Vegas with two hours to spare before the concert, and we sat down in our seats, glasses of wine in hand, ready for Celine and her five costume changes.

Now, the back story. Our sweet friend Pete had spent time on the phone with the folks at Caesar’s Palace negotiating the best seats they had available for the concert, and he wasn’t even planning to attend.

He got tickets for Chris and me and for my two newest sisters from another mother, his wife Lillian and her friend of 40 years, Marcella.

Marcella and Lillian had taken an earlier flight to Vegas and were waiting anxiously at the hotel, afraid we were not going to make it there to join them for the concert.

We all shared a group hug in the lobby of the Vdara hotel, and they were looking like a million bucks, bedazzled in sequins and sparkles with their hair and makeup flawless.

They looked like they were going to do a show in the Colosseum. It was an amazing night as we all sang along with Celine, but the lyrics which speak the most about all of the friendships we made during our dual residency in Colorado are these: “Near, far, wherever you are, I believe that the heart does go on.”

The older I get, the friends I value most are the ones who will stand with you in the storm and dare the lightning to strike you, the ones who draw closer when others pull away, and those are the friends I speak of here.

As we leave Colorado and look forward to spending more time in Mississippi again, we know lots of airline miles are in our future because there are still so many stories yet to be written with our sisters and brothers from another mother. We will be back, often, and we look forward to sharing our Mississippi will all of them!

David Creel is a Mississippi native. You may reach him at beautifulwithdavid@gmail.com.