Most people think they'll have their parents around forever. And a lot of them are right. They don't have to experience the loss of a parent until much later in life. However, some aren't so lucky. They lose a parent at a young age, and know what's it's like to go through a terrible loss like that. I was one of those unfortunate kids.
My mother passed away when I was 15 from Lung Cancer. It was very sudden, and more unexpected than you could imagine. My father and I hadn't talked much, and my mom had always said she wanted me to stay with my siblings. So, I did. At 15 years old, I had my 22-year-old sister raising me. She hadn't had children of her own, Or really got to experience the world outside of our small town. But she took on the responsibility of raising me anyway.
Now, raising any teenager is tough. But imagine going from the role of sister, to the role of kind of mom. That was what my sister did. And I wasn't an easy teenager to deal with. I was rebellious, and didn't want to listen to my sister because, well, she wasn't my mom. I was angry for a long time that my mom had passed away, and I ended up taking a lot of that anger out on her. I didn't want to listen, I wanted to do things on my own, and I hadn't cared what she said about it. I was trying to grow up just because I didn't have my mom, when in all reality, I really didn't have to.
It took me a long time to realize exactly what my sister was doing. My sister was giving up her freedom, her time, and her energy that she could have been using on something like going to college or being a normal 22-year-old, and instead was putting all of her effort into raising me. She tried her hardest to not take over my mom's role, but instead morph it into something of her own. She was my sister-mom. Still my sister, but with the motherly role. And she did just as well with me, as any normal parent would their own child. After a while, I stopped being so angry, and then accepted that my sister was doing everything she could for me. She kept me fed, Held a roof over my head, made sure I was doing good in school, and was still giving me a lot of freedom. And of course, we butted heads, sometimes more often than not. But, she was still doing everything she possibly could for me. And for that I'm thankful.
Your siblings don't always have to take on the role of raising you. And sometimes, they choose not to. But, mine did. She did everything for me that she possibly could. And for that I'm more than grateful. Siblings are typically your first friends in life. Mine, is my friend, my sister, and my motherly figure. So don't take siblings for granted. Sometimes when you someone the most, they are the first one's there to catch you and protect you.
