We’ve all heard how hard long distance can be. However, there are relationships we might not usually categorize under this: brothers and sisters. In my case, two brothers and one sister. I’ve come to realize that we will never all be living under the same roof again, and while that can be a downer, there are some things that will never change. There are even some perks to the distance!
1) You discover the inherent frustration of phone tag
So you’ve done it, grown up, moved away. However, when you’re used to talking with someone almost constantly everyday, odds are you’re going to want to keep each other in the loop. Schedules get crazy, and you’re both living your own lives. Okay, so if you’re not the most organized sibling duo in the world (guilty), and you don’t set aside times to call. Hence, the games of phone tag, and multiple voicemails per week commence. But, when you do finally reach each other, you of course have to talk for at least an hour about every little thing that happened since you last caught up. States away means next to nothing when you have to fill your sibling in on the knucklehead you who slightly rude to you last Tuesday at lunch, and but, hey, siblings care about those things.
2) Absence makes the heart grow fonder
Okay, okay, it's a little cliché, but follow me for a minute here. If you're anything like me, my sister, or brothers, odds are you came pretty close to killing each other when you all lived at home. Now that you've all left the nest, you realize all those years of bickering and random Starbucks runs are something you actually miss. You find yourself wishing for them to be right down the hall or around the corner like they were for all those years.
3) When you do see them, it's like they never left
Sometimes I go six weeks, or six months without seeing my siblings. Whatever the amount of time, when we are reunited, it's just as it was before. We put on our favorite music that our friends just aren't into (Dave Matthews band in our family's case) and dive into discussing our favorite things. I don't know about you guys, but I find that being raised with someone gives you a lot of the same interests, and you end up looking around when you are with them thinking "oh jeez, there's *insert number of siblings here* of me".
4) Without fail, they will be the only ones that can understand the rest of your family - even from states away
"Remember that one time mom..."
Yes. Yes I do, say no more. Of course you can explain your family dynamic to friends, but there is nothing that bonds you quite like 18+ years of living under the same roof.
5) They're there for you, no matter what
Distance can be hard... But we live in a time when the world is smaller than ever before, and loved ones are only a text or phone call away. Life gets busy, plans get in the way, but I know when it comes down to it that my siblings will always give me a call back, and listen to whatever I have to say.
So, we might still fight and disagree sometimes, but at the end of the day, we are still the annoying little brother or sister to one another, and we’ll always have each other’s backs.
