Circus — the word that perfectly describes my household growing up with five siblings. One child would be screaming, another laughing, one jumping on the bed, one throwing food on the floor, and the other one arguing with me. As the eldest of five siblings, life has always been a little hectic.
Life was sometimes so chaotic that the only thing I could do to ease my mind would run outside and hide behind a tree. After all, with six children in the house, you can imagine how loud, noisy, and annoying life could be sometimes. If someone wasn't whining about another taking a toy, within five minutes, I could promise you someone else would be crying, screaming, throwing a temper-tantrum on the floor, or pushing another child over.
It was nearly impossible to receive a full eight hours of sleep, or to sleep in until seven in the morning. Someone would barge into my room, clamber into bed with me, or stomp around upstairs until I awoke. Nap-time was practically the worst time of the day. My younger siblings would go kicking and screaming into their bedroom. Most of the time, nap-time was never actually accomplished because instead of sleeping, my siblings would spend their time trying to sneak out of their rooms, continue yelling loudly for the full two hours of nap-time, or attempt to redecorate the room with markers and Sharpies. Scarier yet, the child would be silent but scrambling about the room, making it appear as if a tornado had struck. I still to this day have no idea why my parents never gave up on nap-time!
Also, my siblings were notorious for making the "mother of all messes." If someone wasn't constantly on a diligent-lookout for mess central, it was inevitably common for Kool-Aid to be dumped on the carpet, the walls to be covered with streaks of what appeared to be pizza sauce, the toilet clogged with Barbie, macaroni all over the kitchen floor, the laundry hung on ceiling fans, thrown on (or sometimes in) the deep-freeze, and a dirty diaper mashed all over the hardwood. Oh, and when I happened to be the one to find the week-old sippy cup of milk hiding in a toy-box, you can imagine how fantastic it was to also be the one who had to clean it.
Despite all of the crazy things that occurred while living at home with my siblings, I don't regret a minute of it. Never have I wished that one of them would just go away or was never born. Sometimes my siblings could make me so frustrated, disgusted, and sometimes even angry, but even in those moments my heart was full to the brim with an overwhelming, indescribable, unending love.
Despite the insanity of every-day life with brothers and sisters, I have been able to take a step back and look at the bigger picture of what being the eldest of such a big family has taught me. Having so many siblings has taught me to:
1) Be flexible; life never goes as planned.
2) Demonstrate love at all times, especially when it is difficult.
3) Know that you will always have a friend
4) Recognize some of the best moments of life are the little ones.
5) Be aware there is always someone watching for your successes and failures.
6) Don't let an instant of anger cause hours of heartache.
7) Realize life is chaotic, but your heart doesn't have to be.
Living with the "circus" proved to be too much for me sometimes. Yes, life sometimes seemed overbearing with all of the craziness going on within our household, and yes, sometimes I was pushed too far past my limits. There were days when all I wanted to do was run away for a couple of hours to escape all of the commotions and emotional eruptions, but I do not regret one minute of time I have spent with my siblings!
Wesley, Morgan, Luke, Mia and Marlee, I love you all so much! Thank you for the lifetime of memories and "remember whens" you have given me, and thank you for teaching me these seven crucial rules to life. Be awesome, and keep being you! (Without all of the screaming, fighting, and messes, please!) Haha!
Love always,
Megan!
