My life, although stressful, is pretty cushy. As an only child, I never realized the power of a sister or a brother watching out for you. (But now I do have my sister to boss around.) My childhood was damn cushy.
I wish the same could be said for my parents and their siblings. Reminiscing is fun and I love most of the stories. There are many that cause a belly laugh. Luckily, both of my parents and their sisters have amazing senses of humor.
They also all had different versions of bad childhoods. Sometimes I can't listen to those stories. I go into Sheri's World because it hurts my heart to hear them.
No one dwells on the negative. Each person has dealt with it in his or her own way. They've managed to go on and create stable and loving families. (The jury's still out on my stability.)
The oldies did their best raising four boys but in my uneducated opinion, the brothers aren't very close to the oldies or their siblings. It seems to me that it's more duty and obligation.
On the other hand, my parents have this close and bonded relationship with their siblings. My mother talks (or emails) with her sisters almost every day. They disagree, they get frustrated and yet, it's a lifeline.
My father and I went to the airport yesterday to pick up his sister. He was giddy with the anticipation of seeing her. And they both lit up like neon signs when they spotted each other.
They've survived their storms, although there are more to come. Seeing a face that looks a lot like yours and knowing this kind of love is precious. And heart warming.
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I think that often when things come easy you don't get forced to be strong together. That is true for your parents & aunts relationships. When the going got tough they merged together forming a strong protective bound. I have that with my sister. We have plenty of sad memories & things we haven't shared with our children ..yet. However, I am not letting you off the hook as far as not having the same, as an only child. Although our friendship didn't really start till we were in High School, we shared so many tightly, scary, "family" moments. I don't know how I would ever had made it through some of the situations I was put in with my family, without your strong protective shield, helping me along the way. Although our blood may not run each others veins, no one can ever tell me you are not my sister. We do share the same kind of love. It wouldn't be different if we came from the same Mom. I like to think we light up the same when we see each other regardless to how often or not we see each other.
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