Flashback Friday ~ Sibling Stuff

Flashing Back with Linda this morning! We are keeping it all in the family this morning!

Do you have siblings?

I have a younger sister, which makes me the oldest!

How did you view your "spot" in the family compared with the others?

Given our situation we were a very small family unit. It was just the three of us. My mom, me and my sister!

If you are the oldest, did you resent the things the youngest got to do that you didn't?

There are only three years between my sister and myself so there was little that separated us as far as receiving privileges or household chore expectation. There were a few things that I had to do that my sister did not but generally the wealth of responsibility was spread evenly, it had to be!

Did you and your siblings like each other growing up or did you fight all the time?

Fight…OMGosh!

Being so close in age we went at it regularly. Given the situation that most times we would come home to an empty house we had a lot of time on our hands which lead to conflict with no referee in site!

I remember on specific time when we were in elementary school. My sister had been taunting me relentlessly. I sought the advice of my mother and in hindsight I am not sure this was the best advice my mother ever gave me but it is what it was. Anyway after mercilessly enduing her teasing and taunting I sought the help of my, she said “Next time she starts teasing you and won’t leave you alone, just hit her!”

Now I can remember getting into some rolling on the ground fights with my sister and doing the hair pulling/slapping/kicking sessions over  “whatever” but my sister was relentless and stubborn. On this particular day we were on our way home from school. We had gotten off the bus and were walking home and she started in on me and would not leave me alone. I don't even remember what she was teasing me about. I did however remember my mothers advice. This was back in the day of the metal character lunch boxes which I was carrying in my hand at the time. Well I hauled off and swung with all the strength my lunch box welding self could muster. I clipped her on the forehead at the hair line and she went flying off her feet and hit the ground and then the blood went to spurting. If you have never experience a head wound, well bleeding like a stuck pig is an accurate description. We made it home, my sister screaming like a blood covered banshee and me trailing behind her feeling certain that I had possibly killed her or at least maimed her for life. I don’t remember if my mom was home on that day. I don’t remember how or who tended to my sister, all I remember is telling my mom “Well, you SAID to HIT her!”

I think she still has a faint scar on her forehead right at the hairline?????

Are you close now? Or at least friends with each other?!

In years past we spent a lot of time together. She lived just a few minutes down the road. We would have regular family gathering at my sisters house, she had a very large dinning room so we could all sit around the same table. She also had a bathroom on the main lever of the house. This was a very big requirement for my grandmother who was living with my mom at the time. She was wheel chair bound and the only bathroom in my house was upstairs. We would gather almost every weekend and have dinner as a family. It was a wonderful time of family with my grandmother overseeing the happenings in the kitchen and the kids splashing about in the pool! My daughter and my sisters children were thick as thieves, when we were not getting together for dinner the kissing cousins were spending the night almost every weekend. She has twins, a boy and a girl! My daughter was nearly a permanent fixture at their house almost every weekend. My sister had an in-ground pool in the backyard and all Aunt Robin had was a big fat nothing but grass in her backyard!!!

They moved the year before we did. They now live about an hour and 15 minutes away. It was a very difficult transition for my daughter and for the twins as well. We went from seeing each other every weekend to maybe seeing each other a few times a year. It was and still is very difficult.

What memories stand out about you and your siblings?

The one thing I do remember is the huge difference between me and my sister. Polar opposites to the enth degree is an understatement. We don't even look alike. We did not have any of the same interest, we did not enjoy doing the same things. We always shared a sisterly bond but the reality of the situation was that there were lots of things that were different about us. We had very different likes and dislikes. She was a bit of a “Wild Child” and I was more into exploring my artistic side. She was about looking for the loophole and I was about making sure I was home on time.

For everyone, did your sibling experiences (or lack thereof!) affect your decision to have kids or to have a certain number?

I can honestly say that my place in the pecking order did not impact me in the way you would think. Given our situation growing up in a small family unit, under less that ideal conditions, I did not spend a lot of time thinking about wanting more brothers or sisters. I did spend a lot of time thinking about what it would be like to live like the other kids who had intact families who had a house and back yards and mom’s and dad’s that all lived together. I think that was and still is a huge motivator for me over the years. As we have met the challenges we have faced as a family I remember what it was like for me growing up and I work very hard to overcome that dysfunction.

I don’t ever recall having a desire for a big family.  After popping out two children I was very much at peace when my husband made his appointment for his vasectomy! The oddly similar thing is that for as different as my sister and I were, when I look at my own two children I have a Flashback! My two children actually look like brother and sister, however, they are both as different from each other as my sister and I were. 

Well that it for me for today!

Y’all head over to Mocha with Linda for more Flashback Friday Fun!

On a non Flashback Friday topic, I am looking forward to my Girl Childs return tomorrow! I can’t wait to hear all about her trip. Most of the details I have received thus far via text message have been about how dirty she has been getting on site, this from the child who worries about her hair getting frizzy or heaven forbid…poufy, has been problematic for her I am sure.

Y’all have a great weekend!

Blessings

R