Growing up in a big family, a lot of things happen that seem normal to you but crazy to everyone else.
1. Family dinners happen every night.
They're not really a big deal since they happen all the time, but you're still expected to be there every night. Family dinners are the time to brag about yourself and make your other siblings look bad. Or just the time to stuff your face with good food. Maybe a little bit of both. Don't forget to grab as much food as you can on your first round because there might not be enough for seconds.
2. Washing dishes after dinner is the most dreaded chore.
With so many people in the family, the stack of dishes is usually miles high. You can mope around all you want, but in the end you and your siblings aren't getting out of it. Expect your mom to yell the phrase "no one leaves the kitchen until all the dishes are done!" at least 3 times.
3. Family nights usually consist of getting cheap pizza and a Redbox movie.
Since there are so many of you it's always too expensive to take the whole family out to eat, so you just do movie/pizza nights at home instead. And they're just as fun every time you do them! Maybe on special occasions mom will put the checkered tablecloth on the floor in front of the TV and you can pretend to have a picnic inside. A pizza picnic.
4. You'll never all agree on a movie to watch.
It takes at least an hour to go through Netflix together and you'll argue over what to watch and finally it'll be too late to start a movie so you'll just play a Psych rerun that you've all seen before.
5. Every once in a while, you'll bust out Just Dance and start a full-fledged battle to see who has the best moves.
For some reason, Dad always wins.
6. Hand-me-downs...
They're not new but they are new to you, so that's almost as exciting, right? The hole in the bottom of that shirt just gives it character.
7. You have to stand shoulder to shoulder in order for everyone to see themselves in the bathroom mirror.
Four people sharing one bathroom makes for a lot of yelling, "Are you almost done in there?" You learn to all squish in front of the mirror while the girls do their hair and the boys brush their teeth.
8. There is an unspoken bond between siblings.
"If you don't tell mom and dad what I did, I won't tell mom and dad what you did."
9. At the same time, there is no such thing as privacy in your house.
If you kissed that boy or failed that test, everyone is going to know soon...and they're going to tease you about it. Just remind yourself that the time will come when you can dish it right back.
10. The youngest kid is always going to be spoiled.
Everyone is paying too much attention to the baby in the family to really care about your problems. Eventually you'll just accept it.
11. You're going to share a room at some point in your life.
There just aren't enough bedrooms for everyone to have their own. Beware, because this only gives your sister even easier access when she wants to steal your clothes.
12. No one is allowed to tease your siblings except for you.
You can beat up your little brother or call him a nerd, but no one else is allowed to do so.
13. Your family always has your back.
If your older brother has a basketball game tonight, you know you're expected to go. And you'd better believe that when your family shows up, they're going to put the cheer squad to shame.
As much as you love to hate on your family, at the end of the day you'd do anything for them and you know they'd do the same for you. After all, if you joined together you could form a small army. Or at least a baseball team.
