Los Angeles, California

Mobile, Alabama

Niceville, Florida

Cincinnati, Ohio

Cleveland, Ohio

Five siblings, five cities, four states, and one holiday that brings us all together.

Some have it worse and some not as bad but no matter what, not being able to see your siblings as much as you'd like to sucks.

For anyone who has to deal with long distance relationship with their siblings can understand that the most wonderful time of the year is any time that you all get to be together at once, and normally that time occurs at Christmas.

Sure, there's the very rare occasion that we all get to reunite during other times of the year, maybe during the summer, a family wedding, graduation or something along those lines, but there's something about the Christmas spirit that makes it the most amazing of all occasions. For some reason this is when you go on the most amazing adventures, eat the best food, drink the best beer, play the funniest games, listen to Micheal Bublé's Christmas album over and over again, and make the most memories.

It's been a long time since you all saw each other last and now your constant FaceTime dates, text messages and random Facebook posts aren't quite cutting it. It's the beginning of December and the countdown is set and ready in your phone for the amount of days until you all will be together again.

Nothing beats the feeling of going to pick up your sibling at the airport to bring them home. No matter what hour of the day their flight gets in, one a.m. or one p.m. it's never Mom or Dad going to get them, it's a sibling. And as they keep coming, the car going to greet them at the airport just gets larger and large with siblings wanting to join in on the ride.

Christmas music is amazing, but it's even more amazing when you're blasting it in the house and belting the words with all your siblings while dancing in the kitchen. I mean what else can top that? I honestly don't think anything else can. The joy of your favorite people in the world all surrounding you while the happiest music in the world is playing can't be beat. You know what they say, "the best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear" right?

You know those super random traditions that you have with maybe one or two specific siblings? Well it's time for those to be fulfilled. Does going to the mall in your ugly Christmas sweaters to shop for gifts and eat mall Chinese food with your brother sound familiar? It's that time of the year. Or baking Christmas cookies with your sister? Time for that one too. Maybe even getting woken up on Christmas day by your big sister as if she's the younger one cause she's too excited for Christmas day? Its time for them ALL.

Sibling selfies? Yeah those are a must, and they never turn out with all of you smiling nicely like Mom would like, but its fine. The nice smiling pictures you do get with your siblings end up having every one of you piled up sitting on each other's laps, backs, or somehow just all squished together to make it work.

A simple trip to the grocery store for a gallon of milk, yeah that turns into a sibling vacation to the store with someone getting pushed in the cart and the oldest sibling attempting to tame everyone. Then you come home having to apologize to Mom because you not only bought milk but ingredients to make cookies with your sister, your brothers wanted some Christmas Ale, and you just couldn't pass up the deal they were having on Pita Chips and Hummus, your favorite sibling snack.

Let's not forget about the midnight sledding trips. The clock strikes midnight and everyone puts on their warmest clothes, heaviest boots, waxes the bottoms of the sleds and piles into the car. This is where the goofiest pictures are taken, the most epic sledding crashes happen, and the entire family joins in.

Best of all is family dinner. Mom has to get out the table extension again, make six extra servings because your brothers have bottomless pits for stomachs to serve and everyone's around the table again talking about their day, telling their funniest works stories, stories about classes and school, or giggling about the goofy things your Mom and Dad do. Wait, there's one piece of Mom's famous chicken orzo dish left. Let the fight begin.

But we're not going to discuss the part where we all have to leave each other again to go back to our daily lives because that is the worst part of all. So were going to pretend it just doesn't happen.

Being in a long distance relationship with the most important people in the world is tough, but it just makes Christmas that much more of "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year". Thousands of miles separate you, but your relationships with each other tend to never change. And that's what family is all about. So, to my siblings let me say thank you. Thank you for being my mentors, my protectors, the people who always have my back, but most importantly my best friends. Thank you for truly making Christmas, and every time we all get to be together, the most wonderful time of the year. **I may or may not have teared up writing this**