If you feel like you have a full time babysitter, another mom or another aunt, you probably just have an older sister.
For some reason, despite thinking you are sneaky and getting away with whatever you are doing, older sisters just have a way of knowing where you are, what you’re doing and who you are doing it with. Like all good women, older sisters are granted this FBI-like quality. Unfortunately, they are just better at it than you are, and they will find you, they will get you and on the off chance you get lucky, they might even join you.
It doesn’t matter how “cool” your older sister seems to be or how “cool” she thinks she is, she is still and forever will be the mom. If you’ve grown up with an older sister, you have experienced that gut-wrenching pain from hearing the words “call me,” “where are you?” and my personal favorite, “I know what is best for you.”
Throughout my many years of being the baby to an older sister, I have learned three important things in order to have a successful relationship. These three things include the golden rule of being the baby sister, your big sister looks up to you just as much as you look up to her and last but not least, to always be thankful for your older sister.
The golden rule to being a baby sister is to realize, at all times, your older sister is not intending to be a fun-ruiner or act like your second mom, it is just second nature to her to protect you. Older sisters have one goal in mind when it comes to taking care of their baby sisters, and that is to not let their baby sisters make the same mistakes they once did. Sometimes, no matter how you try not to be a repeat-offender, you and your sister find yourself making that same mistake, most likely in the form of a poor choice of a boyfriend. You better believe your sister is going to show up at your door with a tub of ice cream, even though she hated him from the beginning and told you he sucked all along. The truth is, your older sister knows she was right, and she loves it, but in your time of need, she is not going to rub that in your face. She just wants to comfort you because what she loves even more than being right is her baby sister, and she hates to see her hurting. Once you come to this realization, baby sister and big sister will have a more successful relationship.
Maybe, for your entire life, you have lived in the shadow of your older sister, and your relationships has struggled because of this. Maybe, she is beautiful, athletic and smart. Maybe, she has always been put together. Maybe, she has always known what she wants out of life and where she wants to end up, and maybe, you don’t know any of that, so you look up to her for all of her successes. Just as baby sisters look up to their older sisters as role models for always being put together, older sisters look up to their baby sisters for their free spirited attitude, high energy levels and ability to get away with things they were never able to get away with.
The next time you want to get mad at your older sister, keep these few things in mind. First, she does not intend to ruin your fun. Second, you aren’t living in her shadow; you both have a lot of important things going for you, but you are different people. Finally, never fail to realize that your older sister has had a very hard and busy life making sure everything is OK for you. She was the first to attend grade school, high school and college. She was the first to play a sport or an instrument. She was the first to drive. She was the first to join a sorority. She was the first to get her heartbroken. All along, she was testing out the waters for you to make sure it was OK for you to follow in her footsteps. So, don’t forget to thank her for creating a safe path for you.
