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Knowing someone since the day they were born is a weird experience.
You were there the exact moment this person who you’ve spent your life with took their first breath. Okay well maybe not the exact moment, you were probably out in the waiting room when that happened. But you were there after that, you were taken in to look at this tiny baby for the first time. Holding them in your arms like they were the world even if you didn’t grasp fully how much of a change they’d make in your life. But you’re glad. Because a life without your siblings sounded boring.
If you didn’t have siblings, you wouldn’t have anyone to talk to on your way to school. You wouldn’t have anyone to sit with at lunch. No one to play with at recess. No one to play silly games with at the restaurant as you worked and they procrastinated. No one to be your bestfriend, because that's what they were to you. Your bestfriends.
Some might say having your siblings as your bestfriends was sad. But you don’t listen to those people, because what do they know.
Having your siblings as your bestfriends is awesome. Because you never really have to spend time apart. You see them everyday after all. You see them at their worst, and at their best. Because you’re their oldest sibling and you’ve been there through it all.
You see your sister as a 6 year old, falling and scraping her knee because she wasn’t paying attention and tripped on a crack in the sidewalk. And since you see it happen, you’re there to give her a bandaid and wipe the tears off her face that came with the shock of falling.
You see your 8 year old brother pick something up off the ground and eat it. And since you're there, you’re able to identify why he might be sick later that night. When he's throwing up in the bathroom and your parents don’t know what happened.
And you’re there again when your now 9 year old sister doesn’t know why she feels different from the other girls she knows. And since you’re there you can help explain that just because she doesn’t like makeup and princesses doesn’t mean she's ‘being a girl wrong’. Because everyones different and that's always been a running theme in your family.
And you’re there when your 11 year old brother doesn’t know how to cope with separation anxiety. So you suggest an imaginary friend. And then Ken becomes a regular name thrown around the household.
Then there's the time your 14 year old sister has an argument with her girlfriend, and you sit there as she vents and rants for hours until she's worn out. Then you give her the advice that ends up helping the situation and having the two make up.
And the time you’re 16 year old brother is scared to come out as genderfluid even though he knows their family is supportive. So you comfort him and help him come up with a plan to tell everyone, which he ends up using and everything turns out great.
Being the older sibling, you see everything, you’re there for everything.
But they see you too, and even if they weren’t always there, they’re there for the majority of it.
Like the time your 4 year old sister helps 8 year old you cover your tracks after you accidentally broke a picture frame. You end up confessing to your parents anyway, but even at 4 your sister was ready to ride or die with you.
Or the time your 6 year old brother helps 8 year old you find your glasses because you couldn’t find them since without them you couldn’t see.
And when your 9 year old sister just wanted to hangout with 13 year old you at the school fair, but you were love struck over a boy on a voice recording. So she snapped you out of it by indirectly telling you she missed hanging out with you. And it still made you smile when thinking about it.
And when your 11 year old brother apologized when you got in trouble for snitching when it was actually him. But it was okay because you spent the rest of the night doing dumb little handy-prancing you’d both grown to love over the course of that week.
And then when your 13 year old sister saw 17 year old you crying because the stupid boy you decided to give one more chance went out and cheated on you. And she went out and punched him square in the face without a second of hesitation.
And your 15 year old brother was at home comforting you during the whole situation. Telling you you deserve better than that guy. And you believed him, because he would never lie to you about that.
Being the older sibling, you see everything. You see them grow up, become their own unique and different people. And find their own interests, likes, and dislikes.
But they see you too. And they show time and time again that no matter what they’re always going to see you, and they’re always going to care about you. And hey, maybe they even look up to you. But either way, you’re always there for them. And they’re always there for you.