In celebration of siblings’ day, a repost from many years ago. We never were all together again. Make the time!
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Posted on January 1, 2015 by wileyna@yahoo.com
I have had the joy and privilege of spending this holiday season with family. I love family, both my own and my husbands, and especially the one we created together. It’s true that our children still annoy each other, but more often than not these days, they are getting along, sometimes well and sometimes simply co-existing in a relatively peaceful way. It hasn’t always been so, no more than it was for my siblings and me. In fact, many of my fondest memories are of the constant battles between my brothers and sister and myself. We tormented the hell out of each other, for no real reason that I can think of. We weren’t exactly cruel, but we weren’t exactly kind either. My children were (and are) no different.
So, this morning, when I picked up the phone to call my sister in Rhode Island and I also got a chance to speak with my brother who was visiting her from Colorado, and I was told that both my brother from Maine my brother from New Hampshire might be stopping by her house later on today, I was really wishing I had extended my visit to New England earlier in the week a few days longer. We haven’t all been together for nearly 10 years, and I miss them the way only siblings can miss each other, deep down in my soul.
Clara Ortega said, “To the outside world, we all grow old. But not to brothers and sisters. We know each other as we always were. We know each other’s hearts. We share private family jokes. We remember family feuds and secrets, family griefs and joys. We live outside the touch of time.”
When we’re with our siblings, we are our true selves. We are stripped of all the trappings in which we’ve wrapped ourselves. It’s true that family can come in many shapes and forms. Some families are chosen and some simply are. True family are those who can see through to our core and connect regardless of how much time has passed.
For us (Marc, Paul, Carolyn, David and I), I believe, the greatest gifts given us by our parents are each other. I know one day that my own children will feel the same.
Nancy Wiley writes. 