1997 was an interesting year.
Princess Diana passed, "Harry Potter" was published, the Packers won the Super Bowl... And I just so happened to be born. While everyone's birth is special in their own regard. Whether you enjoy your birthday or not, mine was particularly special since I wasn't planned. And by that, I mean really not planned.
My parents were in their forties and my brother was a freshman in high school.
And, of course, my dad had white hair already. So a lot of people thought that he was my grandfather and that my brother was my dad. That mainly happened as I got older, though, when my brother was still in the house.
While I wouldn't change the way a lot of things are, I have a few complaints about my family being so much older...
I feel like I'm being cheated in the sense that I won't have a lot of time with my parents. Yes, no matter how long your time with your parents is, it'll never feel like enough. However, I feel like the opportunity to really utilize that time with my family will be cut short and that's not fair.
All that aside, the main premise of this article is this: I wish I was closer with my brother. Because of our age difference, we are at two different points on life's timeline. He's 35 now and pretty set in his life. He's constantly busy with work, so I don't want to text him and feel like I'm being bothersome. I'm just a kid in college and he has his life together. Sometimes, I feel as if my issues wouldn't be important compared to the severity of what his might be.
I constantly feel like I need to tip-toe and I shouldn't have to feel that way. No matter how stupid the conversation, I should be able to talk to my brother. I really do think it's mainly the age difference between us that changes things. I feel like if he was a little closer to my age, I wouldn't feel as nervous to bother him.
I don't know. I've been doing better with communicating, but I could still work on it. I talk to my parents every day, why not my brother?
While I know he'd do anything for me, it's still hard to talk to him about some things. I wouldn't even know how to ask him for dating advice (even though he's definitely been way more successful at it than me). Sometimes my dad won't cut it. (Yes, I talk to my dad about boys instead of my mom, but that's a whole 'nother story.) I've asked him for bar recommendations, so why not ask him about taxes?
It's a weird situation because of my delayed arrival. I feel cheated, overly quiet, and complacent, and that's not fair to me. It's definitely not fair to my family.
Talk to your family, especially your siblings. Let them know what's going on because one day, they won't be around to tell.
