I am a middle child. I have two older sisters and two younger brothers. (I do have 3 younger adopted brothers and 3 younger adopted sisters but that's for another post). Since this is about my siblings I will just give you a bit of info about each of them and share my favourite (or worst) memory I have about each one.
My eldest sister is married with one daughter. She is a very strong character and is someone who I clashed with quite a bit as a child and teenager. As a five year old going to primary school for the first time, I saw my eldest sister as my bodyguard. I have a vivid memory of my sister protecting us from a group of school bullies who threatened to beat us up when we went through a short-cut on the way to school. I heard that she also saved us (the three younger siblings in existence at the time) from a potentially smoky and fiery death when a babysitter fell asleep and left a pot of food burning on the stove. Our mother tells me that she came home from work that night to find us shivering outside in the cold, in our pyjamas as smoke billowed out the kitchen windows. My eldest sister had gathered us in a little group near the mailbox and told our mother that 'We can't breathe - too much smoke". I never did find out what happened to that babysitter. Obviously, I owe my sister a lot. She was pretty good but she also had a not-so-nice side like most human beings. When I was a teenager, if I had bought a new outfit which she liked the look of, she would ask to borrow it to wear 'just once'. I would tell her "No, you can't because I haven't even worn it myself! I'm saving it to wear to ... " (some event I can't even remember now) You'd think that that would have been the end of the matter. Oh no. It was only the beginning. She would wear me down with her begging and pleading, "Oh, please, please, please may I borrow it just this one time? I really need a new outfit because... blah,blah,blah". She really did wear me down and so I would end up letting her wear my new outfit. Was she grateful? Hmmmm... Well, a few days after wearing whatever she wanted to borrow from me, I would go to her and ask, "Where's my outfit? I need it back because I have that .... to attend this weekend". She would look at me and roll her eyes and say, "Do you really want it back? I mean, if I were you, I'd be too embarassed to wear it now because everyone has seen me wearing it and they think that it's my outfit". I'm sorry to say that she did that to me more than once lol.
This brings me to my other older sister. We were very close as kids and still are today (probably because we are the closest in age in the family). Sister number 2 has always been a perfectionist which must be helpful in her job today as a health professional. She doesn't do things by halves (I found this out early when she would give me a list of jobs to do around the house as a kid). We always roomed together which was pretty cool except for when we had to go to sleep. We had this little ritual at bedtime where we would exchange secrets or just talk about our day and share anything that was bothering us. As the younger one, I would always start talking but she would say, "Can I go first tonight? I have this really important secret to tell you" and being the nosey, big-eared little sister that I was, I agreed. So, after crossing my heart, hoping to die etc.. she would start talking. I used to just lie there, listening quietly when all of a sudden she'd go, "You're not even listening!". She would then demand that I prove that I was awake by responding at regular intervals. After she had finished, she would say, "Your turn now!" and of course I would launch straight into my daily report. After pouring out my heart and soul in the darkness of our shared room, I would ask her, "What do you think?" and all I could hear was a loud ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz LOL. (This post is getting so long I can kind of understand why she fell asleep listening to me)
Last but not least, I come to my little brothers. I am two years older than one brother and five years older than the youngest. Little brothers can be annoying at times but I have found that brothers can come in very handy when they get older so it always pays to be nice to them. My first little brother has always been taller than me since he was 9 or 10 years old. He started driving when he was 8 years old and was pretty confident about it too! This was Samoa back in the eighties when it wasn't an uncommon sight to see underage drivers out and about. He was driving around Apia once when a police officer pulled him over and asked him how old he was. My brother, afraid that he was going to be in big trouble, looked the cop straight in the eye and told him that he was seventeen (in the gruffest, most 'kama makua' voice that he could manage). The police officer laughed and told him to drive safely. It wasn't until my brother got home and told us what had happened that he discovered why the cop was laughing at him - he had forgotten that he was still wearing his Apia Primary School uniform.
My youngest brother was a real handful from the get go. We were always running away from him as kids as he was so ulu leaga that if he got mad at you, he would chase you and throw anything that he could get his hands on - be it a rock, a piece of wood or even a knife. One of our older cousins even has a scar from a knife that my little brother threw at him. When we were living in Samoa, our village aufaipese received an invite to a faaulufalega in Tutuila. We went to it and were away from home for a week. When we got back, I found a card from my baby brother on my pillow saying 'Welcome Home!" with a cute message inside saying how much he missed me and all of us who had gone on the trip. I was so touched to know that he had made me a card that I kept it and anytime he did something to annoy me, I would only have to look at the card and any anger or annoyance would just disappear. I still have his card today and keep it in a special box. He lives in Australia now and so we hardly ever see him. When he comes over, he spoils my kids rotten. I really miss him as he is the only one who is not in NZ.
Siblings - can't live with them and can't live without them!
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| Me and my siblings. I'm the depressed-looking one third from the left. This was taken before my youngest brother was born. |
I am a middle child. I have two older sisters and two younger brothers. (I do have 3 younger adopted brothers and 3 younger adopted sisters but that's for another post). Since this is about my siblings I will just give you a bit of info about each of them and share my favourite (or worst) memory I have about each one.
My eldest sister is married with one daughter. She is a very strong character and is someone who I clashed with quite a bit as a child and teenager. As a five year old going to primary school for the first time, I saw my eldest sister as my bodyguard. I have a vivid memory of my sister protecting us from a group of school bullies who threatened to beat us up when we went through a short-cut on the way to school. I heard that she also saved us (the three younger siblings in existence at the time) from a potentially smoky and fiery death when a babysitter fell asleep and left a pot of food burning on the stove. Our mother tells me that she came home from work that night to find us shivering outside in the cold, in our pyjamas as smoke billowed out the kitchen windows. My eldest sister had gathered us in a little group near the mailbox and told our mother that 'We can't breathe - too much smoke". I never did find out what happened to that babysitter. Obviously, I owe my sister a lot. She was pretty good but she also had a not-so-nice side like most human beings. When I was a teenager, if I had bought a new outfit which she liked the look of, she would ask to borrow it to wear 'just once'. I would tell her "No, you can't because I haven't even worn it myself! I'm saving it to wear to ... " (some event I can't even remember now) You'd think that that would have been the end of the matter. Oh no. It was only the beginning. She would wear me down with her begging and pleading, "Oh, please, please, please may I borrow it just this one time? I really need a new outfit because... blah,blah,blah". She really did wear me down and so I would end up letting her wear my new outfit. Was she grateful? Hmmmm... Well, a few days after wearing whatever she wanted to borrow from me, I would go to her and ask, "Where's my outfit? I need it back because I have that .... to attend this weekend". She would look at me and roll her eyes and say, "Do you really want it back? I mean, if I were you, I'd be too embarassed to wear it now because everyone has seen me wearing it and they think that it's my outfit". I'm sorry to say that she did that to me more than once lol.
This brings me to my other older sister. We were very close as kids and still are today (probably because we are the closest in age in the family). Sister number 2 has always been a perfectionist which must be helpful in her job today as a health professional. She doesn't do things by halves (I found this out early when she would give me a list of jobs to do around the house as a kid). We always roomed together which was pretty cool except for when we had to go to sleep. We had this little ritual at bedtime where we would exchange secrets or just talk about our day and share anything that was bothering us. As the younger one, I would always start talking but she would say, "Can I go first tonight? I have this really important secret to tell you" and being the nosey, big-eared little sister that I was, I agreed. So, after crossing my heart, hoping to die etc.. she would start talking. I used to just lie there, listening quietly when all of a sudden she'd go, "You're not even listening!". She would then demand that I prove that I was awake by responding at regular intervals. After she had finished, she would say, "Your turn now!" and of course I would launch straight into my daily report. After pouring out my heart and soul in the darkness of our shared room, I would ask her, "What do you think?" and all I could hear was a loud ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz LOL. (This post is getting so long I can kind of understand why she fell asleep listening to me)
Last but not least, I come to my little brothers. I am two years older than one brother and five years older than the youngest. Little brothers can be annoying at times but I have found that brothers can come in very handy when they get older so it always pays to be nice to them. My first little brother has always been taller than me since he was 9 or 10 years old. He started driving when he was 8 years old and was pretty confident about it too! This was Samoa back in the eighties when it wasn't an uncommon sight to see underage drivers out and about. He was driving around Apia once when a police officer pulled him over and asked him how old he was. My brother, afraid that he was going to be in big trouble, looked the cop straight in the eye and told him that he was seventeen (in the gruffest, most 'kama makua' voice that he could manage). The police officer laughed and told him to drive safely. It wasn't until my brother got home and told us what had happened that he discovered why the cop was laughing at him - he had forgotten that he was still wearing his Apia Primary School uniform.
My youngest brother was a real handful from the get go. We were always running away from him as kids as he was so ulu leaga that if he got mad at you, he would chase you and throw anything that he could get his hands on - be it a rock, a piece of wood or even a knife. One of our older cousins even has a scar from a knife that my little brother threw at him. When we were living in Samoa, our village aufaipese received an invite to a faaulufalega in Tutuila. We went to it and were away from home for a week. When we got back, I found a card from my baby brother on my pillow saying 'Welcome Home!" with a cute message inside saying how much he missed me and all of us who had gone on the trip. I was so touched to know that he had made me a card that I kept it and anytime he did something to annoy me, I would only have to look at the card and any anger or annoyance would just disappear. I still have his card today and keep it in a special box. He lives in Australia now and so we hardly ever see him. When he comes over, he spoils my kids rotten. I really miss him as he is the only one who is not in NZ.
Siblings - can't live with them and can't live without them!
Such a cute photo! - esp your grumps face. lol!
ReplyDeleteThat cop story had to be the best one of the lot! I miss my siblings who've grown up and moved out. Definitely can't live without them!
My brother was fearless but he's still the man! Love hanging out with my siblings : )
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