Being in a large family makes for some interesting experiences. My siblings and I are pretty close in age and growing up, for the most part, at least four of us were under the same roof. In my family, there are five girls and one boy (I have two stepbrothers, too). Whether siblings are step, half, adopted, blood, whatever, they are family. Always. Luckily, my big brother made it out first. My sisters and I look up to Josh so much it is unreal -- he’s the best. He’s like a big teddy bear and a protector, all in the same person.
Anyways, the following is a list I compiled of things that ring true to me about having a large family. These things have been my life, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
1. Family dinners look more like a feast before a fast.
With large families, there has to be tons of food to feed everyone. We always had a snack cabinet full of junk food (guilty) and a fridge full of leftovers. At family events, each aunt and uncle brings a dish or two and that ends up equaling a whole bunch of food. There are snacky foods, real dinner-like foods, desserts, dips, etc. Every holiday and every get-together looks like a smorgasbord as far as the food is concerned. And hey, I have yet to hear someone complain about it.
2. Siblings are life-long friends, and they don’t have a say about it.
We were born siblings. From the moment we each came out of the womb, we immediately had a friend and we were stuck with them. Although they might not always act like they love me, I know that my siblings are there for me and will always have my back. Having siblings means that you always have a date to the movies, someone to play catch with, someone to shout at when you’re angry, and a shoulder to cry on when you need it.
3. There are never enough bathrooms or enough couch space.
When we were younger, we lived in a house with only one bathroom. Yep, one bathroom, one toilet, and one shower. Six kids. One parent. You can only imagine the amount of yelling that would happen if someone was taking too long, if someone used all of the hot water, or if someone stunk it up before the next person went in there (gross, but so honest). Even when we had more than one bathroom, it still seemed like there were never enough. Honestly, I think the most arguments in our house were over the bathroom rather than anything else. Couch pillows did not exist at our house. There was no space on the couch for anything more, no pillows and no more people. Oftentimes we spent the evenings laying on each other -- cuddling was completely normal.
4. What's yours is theirs and what's theirs is yours.
That shirt that you can't find and want to wear is nowhere to be found, but where could it be? If you live with sisters, I'm sure you have a great first guess. Hair brushes, shirts, pants, shoes, socks, nail polish, ponytails -- nothing is safe. Siblings steal. But not really steal, because they are related, right? We were taught to share when we were young, but this is unauthorized sharing.
5. You get called 12 different names before your own.
If you have grown up with multiple siblings, you completely understand the struggle of being called every other sibling's name when being yelled at other than your own. This happened to me so many times growing up and by the time my mom would finally get to my name I was laughing so hard and she couldn’t even be mad at me anymore. So hey, no harm, no foul.
6. Laughter is heard all of the time, and it can get annoying (to parents).
Having siblings means that you have someone to make memories with day in and day out. Many of my memories of my brothers and sisters involve laughing, and lots of laughing. My sisters and I would laugh until we cried all of the time. And if one of my sisters started hysterically laughing, there was no way that we could not laugh along with her. Laughter is so contagious, especially when someone’s laugh is actually funny. My mom would have to yell at us sometimes at night when we were laughing too hard when she was trying to sleep.
7. Siblings are blessings.
I cannot imagine my life without my big ole family in it. Without my brothers and sisters, my childhood memories would be empty. Every memory I pull out of my brain has at least one of my siblings in it, and I am not exaggerating. They are always there, and always will be. If I need to vent, one of my sisters is always there. If I need a hug, my brother gives the best ones. I can count on my family, day in and day out.
