The Boring Word About Sisterly Love

October 9, 1985

Life just isn’t fair. In our family the youngest “never has to do anything” and the oldest, “always gets to do everything”.

“Big sisters are so bossy.”

“Little sisters are such a pain.”

Last Friday I drove a quartet of sixth grade girls (three older sisters and one younger sister) to an activity at school. My daughter told the group they had just escaped a fate worse than death – they almost had to share the car with her little sister!

This prompted comments about all the dreadful things little siblings can do. It was cause for me to recall when Michelle was six how she refused to walk up to the front of the church for the children’s sermon because her two year old sister was tagging along and liked to make as much noise as possible with her Mary Janes – it was just “too embarrassing.”

Since then there has been a constant battle trying to protect everything in her room from the “little terror” and at times she has even even tried to make her disappear – like the night she had a slumber party and Julie put her sleeping bag right in the center of the group.

Finally the voice representing the younger sister’s point of view in the car spoke up and said “well its no fun always being told what to do.”

This sounded all to familiar and I could hear Julie complaining, “I never get to be the teacher,” and “why do we always have to play what she wants?”

She also asks a string of questions — “Why does she get to ride her bike on the road and I can’t? Why does she get to stay up later than I do? Why does she get to wear panty hose and I don’t? Why does she get to go so many places and I have to stay home?

Who has the best or worst position in the family structure is a subject that will be debated into adulthood and create some of the most cherished memories of childhood.

(Now that’s a little sister’s opinion though)

CCW