advertisement! He was so good just sitting there eating his French fries all by himself, as if nothing else in the world mattered to him.... Then along came Ethan around the corner.I think you can all pretty much finish this little story...
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33 comments:
Poor Ethan. It's rough on the oldest kid, not having food and all. He has to hoard what french fries Heidi & John occasionally toss at him under the table -- it's not unreasonable to think that he might *try* and take some of Elijah (the youngest and the spoiled one :) ) just so he can survive.
It's tough being the oldest. Tough, I say.
Whatever Chris. Didn't your parents enshrine your first poopoo?
No, they bronzed it.
Ok boys...I think we've taken this one a little too far.
I don't need to know about others "poo" being bronzed, glazed, framed etc.
I'll have to agree though, it is tough being the oldest child = )
OH boy, I sense the claws coming out on this one. And for once it's not girls fighting w/ claws, its the brothers.
Mr. Rational Icthus do you have anything to say for yourself?? You wouldn't want to see your little brother win this argument would you?
Oh, he did NOT!!
You *KNOW* you don't want me going on about who the spoiled one was in our home!
I'm the oldest, I *KNOW* I'm right on this one, and if he wants to bring it, then bring it!
(All you oldest kids know I'm right, so step up and defend the cause!)
; )
I'll defend the cause, I'm the oldest and LOVE IT!!
It's a beautiful thing being the oldest...
I would have to agree with Chris though, the youngest child usually ends up being spoiled once the older siblings are out of the house. I speak frome experiance on this one.
The older siblings wize up and move out, while the younger ones stay at home with the "FREE" ride so to speak. Now it may not be free for all of them, but 99.9% of the time it is.
Whats up now all you young siblings??
Okay... I tried to hold off on this, but I just couldn't do it. Apparently, my experience has been completely different from any of ya'll.
My parents tried their best to be as fair as they could. For example: We have any equal amount of baby pictures, we always get the same # of Christmas gifts, we always get things in equal proportion. (Oh, I need to buy Lindsey something to wear for this family picture, let me buy you something as well so that you guys will feel equal.) Maybe it's cause we were too smart and would always point out when things weren't fair and this was just the easist way to deal with us. I dunno.
What ISN'T fair in my house, is that being the oldest, I have to blaze the way. Things that my parent's would never have let me do, they now let Alex do without blinking an eye. I think its mainly cause they realized that I didn't die, but I always find it unfair that I had to work so hard for it in the first place. Good example: My dad used to think it was absolutely SINFUL to not wear nylons to church. Anytime at all... it could be 100 degrees outside, but you had better be wearing them. I fought and fought and fought with him over this... and now my sister doesn't wear nylons and never thinks about it. On the other side of this coin, it could be annoying to always have to do stuff last. By the time Alex graduates from HS, that will be old news and he won't have to worry about college because we will have the system wrapped around our little finger. While I was growing up, I also hated the saying "Take your brother and sister" because that meant they were intruding on my time and my friends. But I usually managed to be a gracious sister. Thats another story for another time though...
Anyways, I know this is long, but I just wanted to share my perspective on the unfairness of siblings. It appears to be different than anyone else's so far.
What I find most interesting about all the comments re: Oldest vs. Youngest, is that none of the Younger siblings have stepped in to give thier side of the story.
Yes I will say there is one younger sibling who is trying to fight this battle single handed...but I do believe there are a few others out there??
So I take it you Dad didn't make Alex wear nylons either? How unfair is that.
I am the oldest, but my brother came up so fast behind me (we are only 14 months apart) that we were pretty much treated in the same way, except Nate go more beatings due to his rebellious nature. I got my fair share, but I was the "good" son. The bonus was that I got to drive first, vote first, graduate first, etc.
For Matt, just consider this; it's amazing what people think of you when you perform to their expectations.
Being the oldest, I get stuck with all the responsibility. But, like Melina, my parents spoiled us all, though some more than others. My youngest brother gets away with so much more, seeing he is the baby and the only boy. He's only thirteen, and he already has stuff I didn't get till I was in college (cell phone, computer). He even has a ZEN! Now that I'm older and have a car, I have to be responsible and bring home food for my brother, take him to school, pick him up from school... wait a second... he is the SPOILED one. Boy, it is tough being the oldest.
*crackle, mic thump*
And in the latest news, due to a no-show by the younger siblings, the older siblings win the debate!
Be me? Who would want that?
Uh, me?
I like me.
Oh, and by the way, increasing your knowledge and taking care with your money doesn't make you a new person, just a grown-up one.
Ok, ok, ok. I'm here now!! So here it is, plain and simple.
The younger siblings are the spoiled ones. I know this, you(older) know this, we all do. I will openly, and gladly accept it. Not my choice, but seeing as how it is ripe and their for the taking, why not!!
And Matt, I can't imagine how your parents could EVER look at you and say, "yup, he ain't the mature one". I jsut don't see it happening.
So anyways, yes we are spoiled. Cry a river, build a bridge, and get over it. It's never going to change, and when you have your own, kids you will inevidably do the same.
The End.
And another thing, all of you older siblings are just testers. Mom and dad didn't know what they were doing the first time around. But by the time we younger siblings came around, they knew that if they just spoiled us, all would run smoothly.
Just a small point, Matt, but if you don't want to be compared to others, why do you call out their failings and flaws in order to make yourself look good?
Can't have it both ways. If you're gonna use my past failures to point out your relatively greater success in certain areas, then (in fairness) you've got to measure your life's failures against my successes as well.
You're not me, and that's fine. Just be yourself. Jillian mentioned over dinner last night that she couldn't handle there being two of me in the world anyway... :D
Well I'm glad to see that my younger sibling decided to step up to the plate and defend himself. Cause for a while there, I was begining to think I was an ONLY child w/ the YOUNGER sibling advantages = )
Lord help us all if this world has another Chris in it that we aren't aware of...Amen Jillian!!
Heidi brought out a good point last night...what about the middle child?
And Zach my bridge has been built and my boat is currently sitting on the sunny side of Older Child Syndrome = )
wwwPoor Heidi, she *always* has to bring up the "middle child" issue though.
What "Middle Child Syndrome?" They get the benefits of the younger child (less responsibility, more spoiling) while avoiding all the responsibility heaped on the oldest.
Seems like a win-win to me.
...tings is, I shouldn't have to go to school or manage money well in order to be seen as an equal with my siblings...
Matt, since you brought it up...
Do you want to be considered my equal in book smarts? Do you want to be considered Shelley's equal in financial management?
At the risk of possibly getting stuck in the middle of Matthew and Chris' argument, I want to say this:
I really do think that siblings have to have an area to shine. I mean, it would seem fairly easy to deduce that if there are a lot of kids duking it out for attention, then in order to get your fair share of recognition, you need to make yourself recognizable. I think that it is important to not try and fit yourself in your sibling's accomplishment, but figure out what you are good at so your parents can see that. When my brother was little and didn't want to work hard on his homework, he would always say, "But I'm not smart like the girls." He seemed to think that we were way smarter than him and this was his excuse. But my parents didn't want him to BECOME Lindsey or I, just to simply live up to his potential.
And at the risk of sounding too school-counselor-ish, I think that it is important that a person figures out who they are. They can't go through life waiting for others to praise them and say that they have done well. They need to know what makes them special and what good qualities they have to offer people. If they don't ever figure out what makes them "them," then why should they expect others to be able to figure it out for them? Until they get themselves figured out, I can see how siblings can be compared to one another.
And a final note... I PROMISE! Something to keep in mind when you get frustrated with your siblings. My parents used to say (and still do): There are enough people in this world who are willing to tear you down, your family shouldn't be one of them. This would usually come, of course, right after a big sibling argument!
Ok so what started out as a simple little McDonald's add has turned into a so called "blood bath" between siblings.
I never intended for any of this to happen, and I really truly hope and pray that there are no hurt feelings between all of us.
I will be the first one to apologize if in any way I offended any of you or made any of you upset.
Can't we all just be friends and get along = )
Stacy, stop. Just stop.
You had me at "hello."
This whole sibling thing has me feeling sheephish. In fact, I feel like Sybl Shepherd...
*grin*
Well, I think the bombing has stopped... for now. Anybody up for some McDonalds? :)
join the club.... some of my coworkers have it on a regular basis. It's much closer than Carl's Jr
Quarter Pounder? I'm 100% Rounder.
Filet O' Fish? Quarter Flounder.
Big & Tasty? Big & Pasty
Skip lunch at McD's, you won't go Waisty.
Younger siblings are ugly... wait, I think I am late to this party.
Nuts.
I got ticked once. I was walking through a forest, and a bunch of ticks jumped on me, and started boring through my, well, me, and so I ran and found a campsite with a fire because I heard that you can make ticks un-bore themselves if you hold a match to their, well, them, and so I jumped, um, me first in the first and decided that was a poor idea as I burned, um, me, and that had to have several bandages over several day to comfort, uh, me, but I wasn't ticked after that.
BBQ'd bugs? Ooh, that sounds gross and ticky.
Where exactly are you going with this Matt? I'm a little confused on the whole apple in the mouth bit'?
Please explain...
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