siblings
Siblings are the only enemy you can't live without.
What it's like to be a Twin
Statistics It comes as no surprise that human beings, unlike most mammals, normally only give birth to one child at a time. However, the possibility to become pregnant with more than one child at any one given time is possible. Some have claimed that it skips a generation while others are the first to ever have been reported in their families.
By Shasta Scott5 years ago in Families
Selfless
Lily was sitting on the carpet in the living room, the light of the golden sun gleamed through the broken blinds and illuminated the VHS tapes that sat anxiously on the towering book shelves. She traced her finger along their binds enjoying the smooth texture and the little waves that each new tape created under her finger tip, 'Which one should we watch today?' she thought to herself. As she extended her arm to reach for one of her favorites, she heard a loud crash from the kitchen. Suddenly followed by a loud roar of voices and she knew that something bad was about to happen. The roaring grew louder and the crashing more frequent and she began to panic. Lily raced through the house to the furthest corner, smothered her hands over her ears and she began to hum. She squeezed her eyes shut and she rocked herself until the sound was only a whisper in the distance.
By Kenzie Craner5 years ago in Families
The Next Round
“IT’S AN ARM BAR!!” The commentator screamed as all the nerves in Katie’s arm lit up like a firework. A roaring cacophony rose from the thousands of people packed around the octagon and a sickening sense of hopelessness filled her chest. The pain was so intense and focused that her eyes started to blur out, but she wouldn’t tap out. If there was ever a fight that she wouldn’t tap out of it was this one. Her legs writhed and she cried out. Gathering the reserves of her strength, Katie pulled hard in a last, jerk effort to break free from the iron grasp of her opponent. A move she instantly regretted as she heard, seemingly louder than the cheering and yelling of the crowd, a loud crack in her arm and it was over. The fading sound of the match being declared over, filled her ears as she blacked out.
By Sara Cooney5 years ago in Families
Our Secret Spot
June 2018 (21 years old at the time of writing) “Kel, that’s not how you do it!” I cautioned him “Who cares? I’m going faster than you!” my brother responds snarkily, laughing as he runs off in an awkward sort of tip-toe manner. And there we were, learning to skate for the first time. We don’t remember how we got there or who else was present. Still, I’ll never forget the happiness and security my brother and I shared that evening. Kelvin and I have always looked to each other for confidence, and it seemed we had found a safe place to talk about our lives and laugh about our struggles. The combination of disco lights, buzzing and blaring from the arcade games, and the rink DJ spinning the hottest tracks of 2008 was enough noise to drown out our voices. We had to experience this elation again. My brother began mowing lawns to earn a little cash, and I the same through domestic duties. Once we had been able to save consistently enough, we’d run off to the roller rink once, sometimes twice a month. From my mother’s divorce to her remarriage, and then the birth of our younger sister. Through our parents leaving to serve overseas, splitting us into different homes in the process. The rink was where we could escape together. Plans and dreams were thought up there because no one could tell us our hopes were foolish. The roller rink was our secret spot.
By Ashley Croban5 years ago in Families
Competing with my sister to become the ‘IDEAL’ child
Age-wise, I and my elder sister had a gap of 1.5 years, Grade-wise it was 1 year. We went to the same school and were taught by almost the same set of teachers. Apparently we shared the same section and so her class-teacher always became my class-teacher the next year! I call my sister a ‘born genius’. She had the best handwriting in her class, she won medals in almost all competitions she took part in, and she scored A+ in almost all subjects. Teachers would describe her as the ‘ideal’ student. My mother was known in the school by my sister’s name and I got ‘special attention’ from teachers when I introduced myself as ‘her sister’. Unfortunately, this ‘special attention’ felt like a ‘special burden’ to me. I was not ‘Bad’ or ‘Weak’. I scored average marks, my handwriting was legible, I moderately participated in co-curricular activities, and I was respectful and obedient! The unfortunate part was that for the teachers I was my sister’s ‘SISTER’. Hence my handwriting was “ok, but not as good as...”; my painting for the class bulletin board was “ok, but not as good as the one hung last year!” and so on for all the other things at school!! Once, in my third grade, I had made a thermocol Christmas tree. It was my best creation and I was so satisfied and happy. I took it to school, taking utmost care so as not to damage it on my way. I waited eagerly to show it to my class teacher. She looked at it for a while, looked up at the bulletin Board and commented “This one can go in there (pointing to the small board beside the main one), and I was thinking if you could get the one that your sister had created last year that could be placed here in the centre”. Was I to be happy or sad? After all, even if my sister’s work was put up, it was from ‘my side’. With that logic in fact, two and not just one painting from my side were to go onto the board!! I was neither sad nor happy, I felt frustrated. And by now, I don’t think I need to explain my frustration further! I always yearned for the praise and approval which my sister received. Once in my 10th grade, I wrote a wonderful essay in French (a third language for us). It had taken me 5 hours to write a one page essay, but when it was completed I felt proud. Excited as I always was, after any of my creation, I gave it to my sister to read it. She was not just amazed, she had difficulty understanding the vocabulary used and had to refer to the dictionary multiple times. My excitement grew and I eagerly waited for my work to be reviewed by my teacher. The comment that I received read “Is this your own work or your sister’s?” This was a red scar on my beautiful blue ink!! How did I feel- Sad, angry, frustrated? None! I felt ‘winning a battle’.
By pallavi gupta5 years ago in Families
People in my Life
This New Year's day of 2021 will mark the 30th anniversary of the violent murder of my brother, Joseph Vincent Hulse. Around 12:15 am, January 1st, 1991, a coward brought a gun to a fist fight. He also brought along a couple carloads of friends armed with golf clubs and baseball bats. My brother was only 20 when he died but he had an old soul and I always viewed him as an adult. He was only 6 years older than me but light years more mature.
By James S. Carr5 years ago in Families
A Thankful Sister
What am I most thankful for this holiday season? My brother! Many of you have been following the stories of the devastating fires across the United States. Two fires in particular hit very close to home for me. In my home state of Colorado, the Cameron Peak Fire and the East Troublesome fire raged simultaneously creating a very devastating threat to the tourist town of Estes Park, where my brother and his beautiful family live. While we watched the Cameron Peak fire closely, it was a much more deadly fire that was just on the horizon. The East Troublesome fire swooped in fast causing my family to have to evacuate quickly. Soon after, it was threatening their very neighborhood with emergency crews camped one block over!
By Lisa Brasher5 years ago in Families
Falling for Christmas
One memorable Christmas a few years back, I was away at college eagerly awaiting the weekend when Christmas break began. I had one organic chemistry final to power through, then I was on my way to two weeks of freedom. This time of year family from all over the country return home to celebrate the holiday season. I have an older brother who was out a couple days earlier from his college than mine and home already. My parents had already set up the Christmas tree, this is usually done on my Dad's birthday on the 12th of December (12/12) as an annual tradition in our family. Truly an appropriate day to perform this special task as my Dad loves Christmas, especially all the Christmas lights.
By Carolyn Sumner5 years ago in Families
Teacup
I, Allex, have a total of five siblings. My older sister, Bailey, is my half-sister. Despite this, I’ve known her my entire life and consider her a full sibling. This is not to say that any other sibling is not real, but Bailey has been in my life longer than any other sibling, including my one fully biological sibling. My strongest memories from my very early ages all include Bailey in some way. We were always near each other, even if she didn’t quite want me there all the time. I can never tell from memory if I actually had a considerably large house in these young years or if everything just seemed larger as a small child. We didn’t always get along the best; we’ve had our times of not talking, or not caring. I was never sure. At this point in our lives, we seem to have come to an understanding that we will live our own lives and never get as close as we used to be. I think we are both fine with this.
By Allex Gehrke5 years ago in Families
