I was lucky, I guess, thanks to the blended marriages of my parents, to have experienced what it is like to be the baby, then for a while, the middle child, then for another period, I was the oldest. "I am so confused " as Vinnie Barbarino used to wail. (That is from John Travolta's baby years as an actor.)
Me as the baby with my protective, if bossy, brothers
For the first 15 years I was the baby. OK, I was spoiled and sure I pretty much got what I wanted, but good grief did I ever have to go to bed early and had to listen to all the fun still going on by the older siblings. Also, I was never willingly taken any where, I was the little sister that had to be "dragged" along.
For a brief spell after my mother died and my father remarried, I was a middle child. My brother while not living at home was still involved and with two new younger sisters, I enjoyed the middle. God how I loved the middle. You have much better privilages than the youngest but kind of fly under the radar for responsibility. Cool.
When we moved to Florida again, my brother stayed in Ohio and I was elevated to the oldest. Yes, now I really had privilages but they were weighted down with that old dog, responsibility. How heavy lies the crown.
Picture as oldest, I am the dark one.
Now days, I guess I fall back into my comfortable middle as we are all living separate lives. Aahh.
Below are some birth order characteristics.
Oldest
_ Natural leader
_ High Achiever
_ Responsible
_ Bossy
_ Conservative
_ Doesn’t make waves
_ Follows parents’ wishes
_ Emotionally intense
_ Authoritarian
_ Perfectionist
_ Driven
_ Surrogate parent
Middle
_ Peacemaker
_ Negotiator
_ Highly attuned to needs of others
_ Doesn’t like to follow authority
_ Creative
_ Independent
_ Peer-focused
_ “Chameleon”
Youngest
_ Comical/entertaining
_ Highly social
_ Laid back
_ Dependent
_ Creative
_ Unconventional
_ Few expectations of self
Only
_ Close to Parents
_ Self Control
_ Leader
_ Mature
_ Dependable
_ Demanding
_ Unforgiving
_ Private
_ Sensitive
Where do you fit in? Did you ever wish for another place on the ladder. I can remember on occcasion thinking "Only" might be cool.
Granymar, very interesting, and cute pictures. I was the middle child, sandwiched by two brothers, which I think is ideal. Both brothers were great to me. I looked up to the oldest and babied the youngest.
ReplyDeleteThanks, also, for posting my link and visiting me.
Nora
I'm sorry! I knew you were Arkansas Patty, where is my head? It's too early, I guess (6 a.m.)
ReplyDeleteI'm the oldest. My "middle" sister recently gave me a small pillow embroidered with "I'm not bossy, I just have better ideas." She said she believed the first part, anyway.
ReplyDeleteMy -glad you are so aware of each position.
ReplyDeleteInterestingly, I am the oldest in my adoptive and biological families. Since I did not know my biological family until I was grown and, you might say "old", the fact of being oldest, is mostly a statistic.
Precious picture of you and your brothers! You still have the same cute smile now as you did as a teenager. : )
ReplyDeleteI was the youngest of three kids and did not envy my sister or brother. My sister was the eldest and my brother was the only boy so they both had more responsibilities. On top of that, my parents were strict so there were few privileges. By the time I became a teenager, my parents realized being overly strict wasn’t working, so they became more lax. The downfall of being the youngest was missing my brother and sister when they left home.
I am a middle child, but with a slight twist, I have a twin brother. So, we were a bit of a novelty in the family. I liked being in the middle, it was easy to disappear there. My little sister would have preferred not being the youngest. She said she always felt like she had to compete with the rest of us.
ReplyDeleteNora
ReplyDeleteI tell you, that middle kid has it made. My favorite spot but I wasn't there long enough. Glad you enjoyed.
Pat
That is a really cute saying on the pillow for first borns. Sure you weren't a wee bit bossy? It is your birth right.
Nitwit
Interesting that you were oldest both times. How neat that you got to meet your biological family.
Jewels,
Lets see, army brat and the baby. Should be no lack in confidence there. It was a rather empty feeling as the older ones started their own lives.
Robin,
Twins really do throw a wrench in the pecking order. I dated twin boys once and got the old switcheroo. Guess that part of twindom was denied you having a twin brother. I too liked that "under the radar" aspect of middle best.
I was the youngest of two, I have an elder sister. I think I am most like a middle child in the birth order characteristics. Not quite sure what to make of all that, but my poor mother did have another child after me that was still born. Those are lovely photos of you and your family.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your post about school sports. I think I was usually picked second to the last. I was tall, stooped, unhealthy, and timid. The boy picked last was fat, had acne, and wheezed a lot! Sadly, there were no computers in my day, otherwise I am sure he and I would have been geniuses. We kind of looked right for sitting in front of glowing screens in semi darkness! Peter.
Peter,
ReplyDeleteLike me, you are a baby with middle traits. I am sorry about your lost sibling.
As for yesterday's post,it is such a shame that a lot of our self image is formed in such a brief period of time with such flimsy parameters. I would be willing to bet Bill Gates was next to last picked also.
I had a pimple faced stalker in high school that is now a retired CEO of a large chemical plant. Bet he was the one being stalked in his adult years.
Wow...what nice pictures! I was the middle child of seven children. I was also a "Little" spoiled...the first boy after three girls. You looked about "Sweet Sixteen" in these pictures. Nothing like a large family of sibs!
ReplyDeleteArkie38
ReplyDeleteWeren't you lucky to be in a large family. Three sisters to spoil you, how good is that? One of my favorite families to visit when I was a kid had 11 kids. I just loved the constant bustle in that house.