family, life

Brothers vs. Sisters

Lori

Do you have any siblings? Sister(s)? Brother(s)? Both?

I observed something regarding siblings over the weekend that I found fascinating. Another intricacy of the human mind and relationships.

We spent a twelve-hour day with my three nephews. We played snowball fetch with Max in the little bit of snow that fell. We played video games, Wii and PlayStation (yes, sometimes childfree couples actually enjoy owning and playing these games themselves). We played one old fashioned box/board game. Two of the boys were very good at that game, one of them lagged behind. The other two teased the one for not being as good at it as them, until the kid didn’t want to play anymore. I’m thinking this must be a boy thing. I can’t imagine sisters doing the same thing. My husband has two older brothers and one younger. He said his older brothers would’ve definitely done the same to him.

Nephews with hubs underneath getting smooshed

I have one brother, no sisters, but my bff from childhood was like my sister. We grew up next door and practically lived at each other’s homes. She is mentioned frequently in my memoir anthology and on my blog a couple of times. My brother didn’t like playing with a girl, so we didn’t spend a lot of time hanging out.

My bff would not have teased me, but my group of girlfriends in childhood would’ve been a different story. They might’ve talked smack about me behind my back. Eventually, one girlfriend in the group would’ve squealed about what the others were saying. As a kid, I was both a giver and a receiver of behind-the-back belittling. When the secret is revealed, it can be just as hurtful as outright mocking.

Still, these weren’t sisters, they were friends. Since I don’t actually have sisters, maybe someone out there with sisters can share how something like my nephews game might’ve gone down with them.

On a semi-related note, we had a wonderful time with the boys. They went with us to a Toys for Tots event and got to meet marines.

See if you can get this Facebook link to work where they’re playing with Max in the yard. I don’t have a youtube account and can’t upload a video to WP.

We ate lunch, played games, ate dinner, played games. Then we munched on popcorn and watched a really good movie called Real Steel (I certainly enjoyed it with Hugh Jackman).

Even though we were exhausted when they left, we appreciated every minute. After living 1,200 miles away from family for so long, life is good.

How were your childhood relationships with your siblings? Do you know brothers who brutally teased each other. How about sisters?

 

 

 

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Published by Lori

Observer, thinker, learner, analyzer, and author. Love dogs. Enjoy cooking, laughing and spiritual centering.

18 thoughts on “Brothers vs. Sisters”

  1. Hi Lori! I have only two sisters. It was the youngest and I who fought a lot. She’s such a teaser but quick-tempered. And our middle sister was always caught up between us. But now as adults we’re more closer. We can count each other especially during hard times. Not only they are sisters but they are my friends. I love them.

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    1. Hi Winnie. Thanks for sharing about your relationship with your sisters. Yes, I do think all siblings fight as kids. With my nephews, and even my husband with his brothers, it’s different. It’s not really fighting so much as it is guys knocking on each other. I’m not sure how to explain it. Guys just seem to say things to each other that I can’t imagine girls saying to each other.

      I’m so glad that you and your sisters are close now. It’s important to have a close family. Thank you for reading my blog and for sharing. You have some lovely poetry on your blog.

      Liked by 1 person

  2. My brother picked on me a lot. We were 2 years apart.

    My sister, who is still alive, was six years older so not that close in childhood. We are very different. She has been very kind to me and my children. My oldest brother was 8 years older. Not much interaction.

    We were actually two families combined. My Mom’s first husband died and she married his brother, my father. There were two and two children from each with me being the last.

    Cute nephews.

    Very warm heading on your blog.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Interesting to learn this about your family and siblings, Linda. Thank you for sharing, and for the nice words about the header.

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    1. I can imagine how you’d wonder what it’s like to have a sibling. Yes, some have special sibling bonds, and others no bonds at all.

      Thank you for sharing, Andrea. Have a nice weekend.

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  4. My sister is 7 years older. She teased, she tormented, she picked on me. We weren’t close until I was about 19. Then we got super close. After I moved, though, she began starting down a life path that I just don’t understand. I still love her, but some of her choices are hard to support. I give it, but it’s not without a moment of pause. Perhaps, that is awful. It’s just hard to see her face the backlash from them. My daughters are 6 years apart. The oldest teases the youngest and they fight sometimes to the point of me wanting to pull my hair out.

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    1. Interesting. Do you have only one sibling, A? I know most siblings fight (guilty as charged), but it seems that brothers compete and belittle each other when one is not as good at something.

      I can imagine the fights your daughters get into. I’m sorry that your sister has gone down a path that has drifted you two apart. My bro and I don’t understand each other at all, but I think we’ve come to an understanding that we don’t understand each other and just accept it. 😛

      Thanks for sharing about your relationships.

      Liked by 1 person

  5. My brother and I are only 11 months apart in age to the day, so we always played together. We were Pete and Repeat, according to my mom. He was older, so of course, he was Pete and I did pretty much what he told me to, but even though he got us in trouble sometimes, he was always good to me. 🙂 I didn’t play as much with my sisters who are a few years older and younger than me.

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    1. Hi Carrie. I think it must be a brother thing. Competitive rivalry. My husband and his bros all made fun of each other. Even when they get together today, they tease each other, more in a joking manner now. How ’bout your sons? Do they tease each other?

      I didn’t realize you had a few siblings. Thanks for sharing. 🙂

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  6. My siblings are much older – 15, 14 and 10 years. As an adult I found my oldest sister to be very problematic – she’s a narcissist (she was also diagnosed with bipolar) who was my mother’s golden child. My family of origin was very dysfunctional but I really wasn’t old enough to have any sibling rivalry going on.

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    1. Yeah, it sounds like the age difference was too great for you to have sibling rivalry. My bro and I used to fight, but it was different than what my nephews were doing. My husband said he and his brothers behaved the same as my nephews. So, I think it’s a brotherly competitiveness thing?

      Thanks for sharing about your family dynamics. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  7. I have an older sister and growing up we fought. At times, we got a little rough, but we always settled things, mainly when my mother got involved.:) Not to be morbid, but I went to junior high with a boy who was murdered by his older brother. He claimed it was an “accident” when they were roughhousing, but the fact that he tried to cover up the crime by burying his brother in a trash bag, in the backyard, didn’t convince the jury that it was an accident.

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    1. Hi Jill. How horrible about that boy that was murdered by his brother. Very scary for kids of that age.

      My younger bro and I fought a lot, too (when he was around). But, my nephews weren’t really fighting. Two of them were making fun of the third brother for not being good at the game we were playing. So that third bro wanted to quit the game because of it. My husband said his brothers would’ve done the same to him. It seems like a thing brothers do. I don’t know. I think boys (brothers) are more competitive than girls (sisters).

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