Birth Order

I mentioned last Friday on Friday Fragments that my sister was returning after many months away during the winter.  She spent the weekend here in town visiting with us and with my "very much younger sister" and her husband.

We all enjoyed being together, and one of the things we did we to view a slide show of photographs which the youngest one put together for her daughter, who is an only child.  My niece had told her mom that she had hardly any memories of her childhood.  Together we wondered, "How could that be?"

We came to the conclusion that one of the services performed by our siblings is to keep reminding us of old happenings.  I suspect some of them are things we'd just as soon forget, when I listen to my kids talk to one another.

Even though my own sisters and I are far apart in age we do have some memories in common, and it seems we each knew our parents in a slightly different way.   I was almost five years old when  Jane was born, and I was just starting high school when Karen was born.  It was many years before we had anything much to talk about and we are much closer now than when our kids were growing up.

I am the oldest child of an oldest son in my father's family, which now makes me the "matriarch", by default.  I find that both amusing and daunting.  It isn't as though I have any duties, but I surely do miss the older generation.  I don't relish this position, but it's inevitable if you have long life.

It is interesting to reflect upon what effect your place in the birth order of your family has had on the other decisions you've made about living your life, though.  Oldest children are likely to pick careers in which they are nurturers, and I was a nurse, a mom, and we adopted children in addition to our homemade kids.

Oldest children are also known to be quite bossy.  That, of course, is total foolishness!  Bossy?  Me?

Huh!