Sing a Song of Siblings

Oh, the benefits of siblings!  

They are always there to disabuse you of the notion that you are the king of the universe.  

They sharpen your ability to follow six conversations at once.  

They know you better, love you better, entertain you better, and sanctify you better than anyone else on earth.  

You get to learn how to accept constructive (and destructive) criticism.  

You get to learn how to hear your secrets told in public and your embarrassments rehashed--and embellished--at family gatherings.  

You learn how to wait for the bathroom and how to overlook other people's laundry piles at the foot of your bed.  

You have a built in cheering section at every event and milestone of your life.  

You have shoulders to cry on and lean on, opponents and teammates for every sport, and scapegoats to take the blame for your brilliant ideas that should never have been tried in real life.  

With a houseful of "concerned" siblings, you can't get away with anything long enough for it to become a bad habit.  

Someone's always got your back, someone is always by your side--and someone is always out front, running to tell Mom what you did.  

You are sharpened by listening to the older ones, and entertained by listening to younger ones.  

You learn to die to your desires and serve others, and you get blessed by the loving service of others. 

Siblings give you great advice.  

And sometimes terrible advice.  

They use your shampoo and eat your candy stashes and forget to put the seat down.  

Brothers bring wild animals into the house and sometimes when you open a  container from the fridge, there is a mixture of  bugs, acorns, and dirt instead of yogurt.  But it is fun to hear boys laugh and they are the best at making leaf piles.  

Sisters fog up the bathroom with clouds of perfume and take 40 minute showers.  But they know what to do about scraped knees and they are always willing to make cookies.

More siblings means more birthday cake.  

Younger ones look up to you with awe.  Older ones look down upon you with affection...and sometimes irritation--especially when you use their toothbrushes or color on their stuff.  

You get to share bedrooms and food and toys and space in the backseat and clothes that you grow out of. 

 And colds.  

You learn when to hold your tongue and when to say your piece...and how to apologize afterward.  

You get hugged more.  

You learn how to read minds and moods.  

Siblings teach you how to handle being yelled at sometimes, and what to do when people cry in front of you.  

You learn how to help someone who is hurt, and how to overcome being hurt.  

You learn to clean up messes you didn't make, turn off lights you didn't turn on, turn a blind eye to piles you didn't create, and mop and sweep and fold and flush and wash and plunge and wipe down and polish and fix things out of love for the people who share your space. 

Because that is what best friends do, and I have never seen better friends than the ones that call themselves brother and sister.  

So grateful for my brother, Dan, for my husband, who was shaped and continues to be sharpened by his brothers and sisters, and for my house full of siblings.