Something I figured would be fun to write about today is siblings. There are all types of siblings; step, half, full, the ones we don’t talk to, and so on. As a little sister, there’s things I’ve learned along the way just by being. I learned things like how to connect to my adult siblings, and how to improve our relationship.

I, personally, am the youngest of five. I have 2 half sisters, one half brother, and one full-blooded brother. My father had a family in his previous marriage, so my half-siblings are in their late 30’s, and I am an aunt to my three nieces and one nephew. Oldest to youngest, my siblings are: Angela, Andrea, Anselmo II (Mo), Jonathan, and me. Jonathan is my full-blood brother, Since my half-siblings were out of the house and across the country long before I was born, we did not talk much as I grew up until I moved closer. They still live quite far, but I have been able to see them about every year or so. Something I learned that is important with adult siblings is keeping up contact. I call them on their birthdays, visit when I can, keep up with them through Facebook, and vice-versa. Facebook especially is a  big help, because I can keep up on their lives, message my sisters and my oldest niece quickly and easily (as they are the only ones with a Facebook page).  My youngest big brother (If that isn’t complicated) just moved out last month, and since he works 12-18 hour days, we rely mostly on his initiation of phone calls. He is not huge to Facebook, or any social media I use, so we text and call when we can.

Growing up, it was me and Jonathan, who is older by 18 months, as he never let me forget. We were always butting heads, a lot more than normal siblings. When we were younger, it was fist fights. We would destroy things in the house sometimes, hurt each other severely. He once even left a dent in the wall after hitting it with my head. As we extended of our vocabularies, fights became gunfights of insults. We looked to hurt each other as much as we could. We had a very bad relationship, and we had a lot of problems.. It really took us both going through our Sophomore year in high school that we realized how unacceptable our behavior was. We backed off, gave each other space, but also found sanctuary with the other when we went through a really difficult time. Once we gave each other space, and made time for sibling bonding, it became harder to hate each other, we were able to appreciate the other as a person rather than our older/younger sibling. Now that he has moved out, we have stayed that way.

Sibling really are sometimes the only family you have, and may be once parents pass away. It’s important not to leave home with any deep-seated resentment.