Birth Order

One of my friends always refers to herself as a second child  who really should have been the oldest in her family She is convinced she has all the typical characteristics of a first-born. I don’t know her siblings so I can’t judge but she’s made the statement so many times, I’ve come to believe her. Shows what repetition can accomplish! My husband’s an only child and he loves to tell people he’s both the youngest AND the oldest when anyone asks. Another of my friends, who is seventy, says whenever she is together with her brother and sister, her siblings appear to have an unspoken arrangement that she, as the youngest, needs to be given life-advice. As the youngest child in my growing-up family, I can sometimes relate to this. But only sometimes. Being a youngest child seemed kind of two-edged sword to me. I felt doted upon and cared for and at the same time, I think I was sheltered more than my older brother and sisters. One benefit: I could jump higher than any other kid my age, due to all the “keep away” games I was forced to endure. There were downsides. I learned what it really meant when someone cheerfully asked if I wanted to play “52 Pickup”. And I’m still occasionally tempted to look under the bed at nighttime, to make sure my oldest sister’s not there, shaking it to scare me into thinking there’s a monster underneath. When another friend had her younger sister — younger by only about a year and a half is all — visiting, we all went out to breakfast together. i can’t remember what her younger sister said to prompt it, but my friend responded by laughingly telling her no matter how old she gets, she will always be the “dumb baby” in the family. I wonder if I fall into that category too. I could ask my brother and sisters but I’m not sure I want to know the answer!

Image courtesy Larisa-K at Pixabay.com