Siblings

As you can imagine, I've had siblings on the brain lately. I've been worrying a lot about Milo and BabyX getting along/being jealous of each other/knocking each other's teeth out/etc. As we all know, siblings can be a curse.

But far more often, I think siblings are a blessing. I have three extraordinary little siblings and I love them all like a mama bear. But this particular sibling has been in my thoughts the most lately: my sister, Laura.



I spent my entire childhood and many of my teenage years bossing Laura around, giving her advice, and trying to get her to see things the right way (i.e. my way). For reasons I can't fathom I was not always successful.

However. I recently achieved a huge coup on that front. After I got pregnant with Milo I started pestering Laura to get pregnant too. She ignored me. Then I got pregnant again and I turned the volume up on the pestering. Still nothing. And then fate intervened to tell Laura that indeed, her sister was right, it was time to have a baby. And now she's pregnant too!

Our babies are due only a few weeks apart and I'm so excited for all the cousin love these kids have in store for them. But I've also been grateful to have a compatriot in this war with my body we refer to as pregnancy. My poor sis has been sick too but she has the added bonus of working at a zoo - can you think of anywhere worse for a person who throws up at bad smells? (Maybe a cow butchering factory?) But she's stuck it out and inspired (shamed) those of us who are far wussier when they are pregnant. (Sometimes I dress Milo in his Halloween costume because it's been so long since I've done the laundry)

The point is it's nice to be reminded during all this depressing time as an invalid that what I'm going through might actually turn out to be worth it - not just for me and Matt, but for Milo too. Of course my little guys will go through rough patches when they'll fantasize about strangling each other, of course they won't always understand everything about each other, and of course they'll resent each other for claiming their parents' attention. BUT no one understands you like a sibling. You share history. You can remember the time she found a baby owl with your dad and it was the most exciting thing ever to happen in her life so far because you were there. And no one can commiserate better about the crazy things your parents do to you or what it was like being the only kids in school who weren't allowed to watch TV and therefore didn't know what was going on on Friends (that's just a random example I thought of for some reason).

I guess I just want to say that I know of people who don't care too much about their siblings. Like they were just other orphans living in the same asylum. And that's sad. No matter how unfair it was that he or she dethroned you from being the most important child in the family (I only have younger siblings, sorry), when you get a sibling, you get a friend for life. No matter what happens to you, he or she will somehow be part of it.

So down with guilt for dethroning you, Milo! If you get a sibling that is half as cool as the ones I got, you'll be ok. Trust me!


(Emily and Laura circa 1988)