siblings - and eyes
36. How has your birth order/characteristics of siblings affected you?
I am the youngest of three. I am 8 years younger than my sister Kathy earthmother45 and 5 years younger than my brother John (now deceased). I kind of slipped in there by accident - not planned. I feel like as a kid I was a silly, strange child - the "baby" - maybe I was comedy relief. Though I think I was my father's favorite - I hung out with him a lot in the garage helping him fix things and build things. He knew I was the child that was left out cause I was so much younger and he made a point of spending time with me - a daily occurrence was our walk down to the creek and back - exploring the woods. I spent a lot of time alone drawing in my room and outside playing with the dog. Our birth order also affected me later when my brother John broke his neck in a wrestling accident at age 15. Kathy had gone off to college by that time and since I was 10 it seemed natural that I became a part of the team to help take care of John at home - being at his beck and call for all the little things he didn't want to bother our mother or father for - putting on the hand brace that held his writing implement, in the beginning getting him books or a tablet to write in and later setting him up with his computer and keyboard, bringing food and drinks, feeding him sandwiches. I also did daily physical therapy exercises to keep his hands and feet limber. Later the local Elk's club bought him a golf cart that he could drive around the yard and I spent many hours with him as he drove it to the creek and back at its highest speed - careening around bends in the trail. Because I was the youngest I became a "helper" - and I still get a lot of pleasure from being useful. As a follow up: even though Kathy and I were not close as children (she seemed to be in another world from me) after we both grew up we have become very close - sharing many of the same interests (art, photography, glass, mosaic, musical tastes) and having similar personalities. She is one of my very best friends now.
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Today Dave and I go to have our eyes tested. I am looking forward to new glasses. I never liked the look of this pair very much.
I am the youngest of three. I am 8 years younger than my sister Kathy earthmother45 and 5 years younger than my brother John (now deceased). I kind of slipped in there by accident - not planned. I feel like as a kid I was a silly, strange child - the "baby" - maybe I was comedy relief. Though I think I was my father's favorite - I hung out with him a lot in the garage helping him fix things and build things. He knew I was the child that was left out cause I was so much younger and he made a point of spending time with me - a daily occurrence was our walk down to the creek and back - exploring the woods. I spent a lot of time alone drawing in my room and outside playing with the dog. Our birth order also affected me later when my brother John broke his neck in a wrestling accident at age 15. Kathy had gone off to college by that time and since I was 10 it seemed natural that I became a part of the team to help take care of John at home - being at his beck and call for all the little things he didn't want to bother our mother or father for - putting on the hand brace that held his writing implement, in the beginning getting him books or a tablet to write in and later setting him up with his computer and keyboard, bringing food and drinks, feeding him sandwiches. I also did daily physical therapy exercises to keep his hands and feet limber. Later the local Elk's club bought him a golf cart that he could drive around the yard and I spent many hours with him as he drove it to the creek and back at its highest speed - careening around bends in the trail. Because I was the youngest I became a "helper" - and I still get a lot of pleasure from being useful. As a follow up: even though Kathy and I were not close as children (she seemed to be in another world from me) after we both grew up we have become very close - sharing many of the same interests (art, photography, glass, mosaic, musical tastes) and having similar personalities. She is one of my very best friends now.
~
Today Dave and I go to have our eyes tested. I am looking forward to new glasses. I never liked the look of this pair very much.