Feature > Watching Your Siblings Grow Up: Where Has the Time Gone?

I am the eldest child. I have five brothers (two of which I have not seen in years, literally) and one baby sister, and I am significantly older than all of them. I was eight years old when the first boy was born, and I had dreamed of having a baby brother or baby sister of my own. I could remember my grade school peers chatting about their little sister or little brother and how much fun it was having someone else to play with around. But I… I got along fine without a sibling, or at least, I thought so. It was not until I turned six that I truly ached for having someone else to play with who lived with me as well. The imaginary friends, neighborhood peers, cousins, and stories I made up to keep myself company were all living out their days and became quite passé. I think I started asking my mother for a baby sister around that time as well. It was my take on life that she could just “will one” up. I certainly thought she had the power to do so.

One day I came home from school and found my mother sitting on our porch swing. She smiled, and said to me, “Hey baby, guess what?” To an eight year old, the look on her face coupled with the “guess what?” led me to believe that there was a big tangible surprise awaiting my glance upstairs, and I could not wait to have it revealed. She patted a place on the swing for me to sit and I did. She then said, “You’re going to have a little brother or little sister.” I can’t remember if I jumped out of the swing and up and down on our porch, if I hugged her and became instantly filled with glee, or if I just sat there in silence wondering what the sex would be. I just remember the day my brother Michael came into this world nine months later; my first brother, the little man who would not leave my sight. He followed me everywhere around the house when he became mobile enough to do so. We had one of those “baby” gates blocking the stairs and I would open it, to head outside to play, and he would stand there with his pacifier in his mouth, tears forming in his eyes, then a wail of a cry always followed. I couldn’t ignore that. I sometimes took him out to play with me for an hour or two.

He was spoiled rotten and was my very own “live baby doll” so to speak. He is now twenty years old and will be entering his junior year of college this autumn. Last month, I went home to Georgia for our baby brother Maurice’s graduation from high school. Just the thought of this little-big one (all of my brothers are so much taller than I am, save for my brother Joshua) graduating placed a smile wider than the Grand Canyon on my face. When I arrived home and saw him, his childhood flashed before my eyes. I remember him being the tattler in our home, the little one who was always up under our mother, the one we sort of stayed away from because of this. We could not do anything out of sorts without him racing to our mother to dish out the goods for our well-thought out and constructed punishment. [Giggles to self] Those days are long gone. He is such a force to be reckoned with. His height places him as the tallest boy even though he is the youngest. I watched him as he pranced in the mirror making sure his shirt was on just right, his tie was not crooked, and his pants had the proper crease. He was happy to be leaving a time in his life that would hopefully take him to an even more productive one. And in that moment, I was even happier to be his big sister.

My brother Joshua is a workaholic. He always has a job. I guarantee you, this guy will never be seen unemployed. He is an individual who makes things happen and I have never known him to sit around and wait for something to come to him. As of right now, he is a team leader at his job and builds planes for an aerospace back home. He also entertains by rapping and DJing at the local clubs. His stage name is known all around town. I have never seen him without a smile on his face and when the oldest boy is home for the summer or the weekend; all three of them gather up and travel together in a small pack. As a child, Joshua was unruly and defied authority. There was a tune he hummed that no one else knew and he had to do his own thing. Now that he is older, this works for him, but in a more trained and formulated way. I am amazed at his individuality and constant motivation. He will go far in life, I do not doubt this.

Our baby sister will be nine this month. I never thought after having so many brothers another girl would join me, but she did. Bless is the most dainty, eloquent eight year old you will ever meet. Most children like playing and being active with their peers, she finds peace in reading, studying, being around her brothers, and participating in events in and around town. Smart is an understatement for this kid. She exceeds anything I could have ever imagined in a little sister. The fact that all of us are much older than her probably had something to do with how she has grown up so fast. It is truly like she was a baby one day, and the next, this fully alert conversationalist who sings her little soul out. She is absolutely stellar and I would not have her any other way.

I have watched each of my siblings grow right before my eyes and my two brothers whom I haven’t had the pleasure of seeing in a long while are with me each day. There is not a day that I do not think about them or they do not cross my mind. I started as an only child who talked a little too much and managed to stay into her share of mischief. Now, I am a big sister who has other beings looking up to me and who come to me for advice. I cannot envision it being any other way. Although I live five hours away, I stay in touch via phone, and I usually go home at least three times a year. I know it is not a lot, but this year, it will probably be different. There is only one child amongst my siblings, our sister. Am I ready for her to grow up too? I think not, but I know it is inevitable and I will welcome it when it comes along, because after all, “time waits for no man.”