Sweet (and amusing) sibling story....got one?

berurah · March 2, 2007, 12:08am

Remember when our kidlets were very young, and we spent our days exhausted and nerve-wracked, maintenance of the status quo being our only aspirations? We’d crawl into bed at the end of each trying day, hoping only for enough rejuvenation to get up and do this all over again. And again. And again. But then, every once in awhile, we’d experience that Hallmark card moment: perhaps it was when peering out of the kitchen to check on the kids only to find the four-year-old clumsily holding the baby on his lap, reading his sister a book. Or, it might have come by way of a brief glance in the rearview mirror as you were driving when you happened to catch a glimpse of your toddler leaning over to plant a kiss on his older sister’s head…… :)

As the kids get older, these moments can seem to get lost in the endless bickering. My fourth and fifth kids are the closest in age of any of mine. They are almost exactly 20 months apart, but only one grade as my middle son has a summer birthday, and we decided to wait until he turned 6 to have him begin Kindergarten.

He and his little sister have been oil and water since the day she was born. He is fairly quiet, shy and self-deprecating, in stark contrast to his little sister’s effervescent, ebullient, and diva-esque personality lol. They get along about as well as Bill O’Reilly and Hillary Clinton. But yesterday, we had one of those rare Hallmark card moments.

Earlier this week, S2 had been “asked out” (whatever that means for a 13-year-old) by a pretty, popular girl in his class. He agreed to go out. The next day, this girl who is attending the same cheerleading clinic as my D3, met S2’s little sister for the first time. My daughter, who loves EVERYONE, told me that S2’s gf was very nice.

The next day at school (yesterday), the gf came up to my son and said, “I met your little sister yesterday, and she’s really annoying!” S2 didn’t miss a beat. He said to the new gf, “This relationship isn’t working out. NO ONE is allowed to call my little sister annoying EXCEPT ME!” ROFLMAO So, yeah, he broke up with his pretty new gf, and stood in defense of his “annoying” little sister!!! :o To say that I was floored was a vast understatement! :eek:

Today at school, S’s social studies teacher said to him, “I heard what happened yesterday [word travels fast where my S2 is concerned LOL], and WAY TO STAND UP FOR YOUR FAMILY!” Glad someone else is giving him the “importance of family” message besides us! :)

BTW, they were back to the bickering business as usual tonight, but trust me, I’m smilin’ inside! :D

Anyone else have some sweet sibling stories to share?

~berurah

Motherdear · March 2, 2007, 1:20am

I love it!!! Berurah, you and your H are raising your kids right!!! What is with these middle school boys wanting to “go out”?

Years ago at our neighborhood pool, this mom came up to me and complained that my 13 yo daughter had insulted her 9 yo twin girls who were my son’s classmates and swim teammates. This was VERY out of character for my D so I asked what she had said. After talking to the mother, and then my kids, I got the whole story. It turned out that my 8 yo son had been teased by the twins (JO qualifiers) for being excited about his Personal Bests for swim times. They were HIS PBs but by no means great times and these twins proceeded to tell him that he basically had no reason to be proud (I believe the phrase “loser times” was used). Anyway, my D told her brother to ignore the girls and they were just ignorant/stupid/whatever-14-yo-phraseology. Unfortunately he repeated her comments to them which of course got back to the mother. R apologized to the mother and girls for her choice of words but somehow managed to make it very clear that she defended her brother.

corranged · March 2, 2007, 2:00am

I think the thing that makes my parents happiest about me and my closest-in-age sister (+2 years) is when my mother tells me some minor news about her, and I respond: “Oh, I know. She told me a few days ago.” After years of bickering, I think they’re relieved that we get along well now that we’re not living in close quarters and trying to share a single computer or TV.

Maybe there should be a post with cute sibling stories that aren’t necessarily them getting along like perfect angels. I know my family has a lot more of those!

frazzled1 · March 2, 2007, 6:57am

If we start a thread with sibling horror stories, I’ll be there. (kidding, but not as much as I’d like.)

Actually, I have seen some nice displays of sibling loyalty from my girls, but it does seem as if they need a common enemy to pull them together. (Note to self: be grateful they don’t see me as the common enemy.)

Thanks for the nice stories, berurah and Motherdear!

ebeeeee · March 2, 2007, 8:36am

Here’s one that always makes me smile. DS is 2.5 years old than DD. When DS was about 4 he and DD were in the next room. I heard something, called in “DS what are you doing?” He called back in his sweet, choir boy voice, “Just hitting my sister”. 
You had to give him props for honesty. :)

berurah · March 2, 2007, 9:25am

Motherdear~

LOVE your story! I’m sure that your then-8-yr-old son appreciated the support of his older sis! It always amuses me when the first perpetrators go back and complain when someone gives 'em a dose of their own medicine! lol

We actually had a similar type thing last summer with D2 (then 15) and D3 (then 11). The girls were in a musical together, and the little kids tend to flock around my D2 because she’s just fabulous with any and all kids. During one of the rehearsals, this one little girl who loved D2 said something ugly about my D3’s singing ability, and D2 basically told her, “No…you do NOT talk about my sister that way–at least if you wanna hang around ME!” LOL

About this:

Most of them DON’T!! In our school, it’s the GIRLS!!! :eek: S2 has been fielding about 3-8 calls from girls DAILY since 5th grade! :eek: He’s never asked a girl out, but he gets asked out about 5 times a WEEK! I’m not sure what it is about him, but if I could find out and bottle it, I’d be a billionaire! It got to the point last week that his male science teacher (divorced) called S2 up to his desk and said, “M, you’re such a STUD! How do you DO IT???” ROFL Maybe S2 can make his fortune giving this advice?? ;)

~b.

PA_Mom · March 2, 2007, 9:29am

He probably grew up respecting women/girls and that goes a long way…: ) With a mom like you I am sure he is a great kid!
I agree with you - around here in middle school it was the girls who were doing the asking…most of the boys preferred to be left alone.

berurah · March 2, 2007, 9:40am

corranged~

Trust me, it heartens me to hear that you’re getting along better with your sister now that you two are older! I’m still waiting… ROFL Seriously, though, my oldest son loves his sibs MUCH better now that he’s 1250 miles away at college! He spent the first 18 years of his life wishing he were an only child!

My kids DON’T get along like perfect angels! That’s why the story I told was so amazing and SURPRISING!

frazzled~

MEEEEEEE TOOOOOOO!!! LOL Oh, I definitely have my share of THESE! ;)

ebeeeee~

ROFLMAO!!! Love that kid!!!

Along the lines of ebeeeee’s “horror stories,” the only broken bone we’ve ever had with six kids in 20 years ('cept for my oldest son’s nose) was when the above-mentioned two of mine (S2/D3) were just three and four years old. D3 had done something to her brother and then, when she was walking by, he stuck his leg out and tripped her, a very short fall at her tiny height and onto carpeting, so no problem, right? Well, when she fell, her toe caught under his leg, and she twisted her leg going down, causing a sprial fracture (which could have gotten me in HEAPS of trouble as I found out much later that that particular type of injury is almost always associated with child abuse!!! :eek:). Thank G-d at age three, D3 was verbal enough to tell the entire story (with a little editorializing! lol). S2 has yet to live that one down as D3 was in a cast from the waist down for a MONTH! :eek:

~berurah

berurah · March 2, 2007, 9:53am

PA Mom~

I really thank you for these kind words. They mean a great deal to me!

I do think you’re onto something, though…In the birth order, S2 is between two girls above him and one girl below. The age difference between S1 and S2 is 6.5 years and between S2 and S3 is almost five years. Therefore, S2 spent most of his childhood playing with his sisters rather than his brothers (although he and S3 play a LOT now, at 9 and 13).

S2 spent countless afternoons being a good sport by taking part in the little plays and singing shows and role-playing games that his very creative sisters always managed to come up with! lol Poor kid…or so I thought…but then…

It truly paid off! I can’t tell you how many times in elementary school this kid was the ONLY boy invited to girls’ parties. The moms would always call me ahead of time: “Ummmmmm, my D wants to have M to her party, but he’s the only boy she wants to invite–do you think he’d be o.k. with that???” And he ALWAYS was! To him, it seemed normal after having been around girls for his whole life.

And he has always been very respectful of girls and looked beyond physical appearance to the personality beneath. There were some girls who went to elementary school with him that did not physically fit the “cutesy girl” image. But those girls happened to be his very favorite friends because they were sweet, smart, and very friendly. Those were two of the girls who ALWAYS had him to their b-day parties (as the ONLY boy), year after year.

~berurah

PA_Mom · March 2, 2007, 10:04am

My husband has 6 sisters and I can tell you that prepared him well to deal with a house of women now! LOL We have 2 daughters and no sons so he is always outnumbered. He’s often a good sport when it comes to movie choices, etc…

berurah · March 2, 2007, 10:09am

^WOW, PA Mom, your DH has SIX sisters!!!??? Yep, I’d say that he’s had some EXCELLENT hubby/daddy preparation! You’re hubster sounds like a really great guy!!!
Does your H have any brothers, or is he the only guy?

sunnyflorida · March 2, 2007, 10:15am

This is not recent, but we laugh about it every Christmas. D1 was 2 and D2 was an infant. We went to visit Santa, and D2 was placed in Santa’s lap, all happy and cooing. D1 screamed “No, No, please don’t let him take my sister…” The story is retold each season when we comment about D1 being absent from the Santa picture that year. D1 is still protective.

berurah · March 2, 2007, 10:20am

Awwwwwww, sunny, that is just TOO precious for words! And SO cool that your D1 has stayed protective of her little sister! :)

About the picture…I used to get a mildly aggravated when the pics didn’t go as planned, but now, when I look back, I realize that the “imperfections” in the pictures tell their very own stories! ;)

astrophysicsmom · March 2, 2007, 10:36am

Every year since our girls were born, we’ve done the classic Christmas picture with them in their cutest matching dresses. One of my favorites is this adorable picture (they were prob about 5 and 3) and are facing each other, in their green plaid dresses with frilly collars, holding hands and smiling lovingly at each other. The “funny” part is that immediately after that shot, the oldest got annoyed and bent both of her little sister’s hands back at the wrists. Screaming and tears ensued…end of photo session. Priceless.

berurah · March 2, 2007, 10:43am

**ROFLMAO*!!! Okay, this prompts me to add the footnote to the above story (in the OP):

After finding out what my son had done, I said to D3, "Awwwwww, honey, go and give your big brother a HUGE hug for that!!’ and she enthusiastically heads to where he’s watching his ESPN program for any Duke bball updates…

She says, “M, THANK YOU” and reaches out to hug him when he sticks a STIFF arm straight out to hold her away and says, “What are you doing??? Don’t hug me!!!” :eek: Gotta reach deep down to get to that sentimental spot, I guess…

~berurah

hayden · March 2, 2007, 1:28pm

Our kids have always seemed to get along well, and now they’re in college they IM all the time. It really makes me feel good to see it.

When they were teenagers, one evening a neighborhood mother called me to tell me about her own D, who was somewhere around 8 or 9 years old. The girl had gone to find her brother, to show him her new outfit. He was in the playroom doing video games with a bunch of his 15 year old friends, including our S. When she went in, her brother started making fun of her, and all his friends piled on. The mother told me that my S stood up and told her not to listen to them, because she looked really nice, and he liked her outfit.

The mother was practically in tears of gratitude and thanked me for making her D feel good about her self.

I was so proud of him! (And wasn’t that nice of the mom to call me!) Not exactly a sibling story, but it helps me understand why our two kids are such good friends.

iaquilter · March 2, 2007, 1:43pm

When my D (19) was home for Christmas break she talked to her 13 year old brother about her boyfriend (someone she has met since leaving for college). She mentioned that they had talked about getting married. When he told me about it he very seriously said, “I don’t think I know Steve well enough for ___(D) to marry him.” I didn’t have the heart to tell him that she was probably not going to consult with him about her choice of husband.

zoosermom · March 2, 2007, 2:02pm

D2 is 7 years older than baby brother and was, to put it mildly, not happy when he was born. When he got his first bath in the baby tub, he was laying on his back kicking and splashing and big sister came to watch. She stared for a minute and they said to me “look mom, his peenicle floats.” So it did.

SBmom · March 2, 2007, 2:48pm

When my S was about 6 and he realized you weren’t allowed to marry your sister, he cried. Because that had been his plan!

His sister, 4 years older, was a goddess in his world-- because she was so nice to him. My D, at age 5, would wake up in the morning, climb into his crib and read aloud to him. My H & I would eavesdrop on the baby monitor in tears!!

This despite the fact that when S was a baby D cooly informed her dad and me: “Remember when our family was just the three of us? That was a much better life for me.”

hayden · March 2, 2007, 5:04pm

This thread is definitely under the category of “don’t know whether to laugh or cry”. Thanks for sharing, everyone !

Sweet (and amusing) sibling story....got one?

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