They are the one’s you love with all your heart and passionately dislike in the same week. They are your partners in crime and the one’s who keep your behavior in check. They provide spontaneous trips to the ice cream place down the road and nights at home watching a movie. They take all of the good snacks, keep the car rides entertaining, and give you someone to sing a duet with while washing the dishes. They are your siblings and they are one of the many great blessings in your life.

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They were your first friends.

An automatic life-long best friend, the day they were born you were gifted with a friend for life. They accept your weird dance moves, your childhood attempts at being a country singer, and remain the very first most important friend in your life, whether you are 30 with kids or just moving to away to college.

They are a constant.

Life is always changing, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse but your siblings will always be there. You will grow out of friends, and hobbies, and wacky hairstyles but the one thing in your life that will always remain the same are you brothers and sisters and there is nothing more comforting than that.

They are the subjects of the greatest stories.

Having siblings mean never having a shortage of great stories. Classic stories like the time you all went on strike, the time you little brother tried repelling from the window out of time out, or that Christmas the fully decorated tree fell on top of your sister still manage to make you laugh so hard tears come streaming down your face.

They understand your eclectic family.

You are the first to admit that you have one big lunatic family, and take it from me you wouldn’t have it any other way. Coming from a household whose family business is an amusement park provides a lot of wonderful characters amongst the family tree and if there is anyone who understands that better it is my brother and sister. Whether you have a big family or a small modest family your siblings are the only ones who truly get it.

They are your biggest supporters.

While they may not always agree with the decisions you make, and while you might not always agree with the decisions they make, you are their number one supporter and they are yours. Blessed doesn’t even begin to describe the feeling of knowing that no matter what you aspire to do in life they will always have your back (even during that short period when your dream was to become a blue M&M).

They help build your character.

Being tackled to the ground while playing cops and robbers, being scared to death while walking through doorways because someone pops out screaming at the top of their lungs, and arguing over a shirt your sister has taken from you for the fourth time all build character. Having siblings teaches you that sharing is caring, sometimes life is going to scare you and beat you to the ground but that you will never be alone and all you can do is stand up, laugh it off, and push on.

They always give you constructive criticism.

The only people in your life who can get away with being brutally honest are your siblings. It is well known that for the most part all criticism directed towards you are just your siblings trying to help (again, I said for the most part). It can be something as simple as advising you not to purchase that one pair of shoes, or telling you that the new side ponytail you wanted to try out is god-awful. Regardless, we have them to thank for not allowing us out of the house looking ridiculous and letting us know when something needs a change.

They make you want to be a better person.

For me, they are my little siblings and I want them to grow to be respected, intelligent, motivated individuals, I better myself because I am the person they look up to. For others they are your older siblings, you want to make them proud, and you become the best you can be. Whatever the situation is one way or another your siblings help you become the best you can be and for that we are eternally grateful.

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At the age of three, I was blessed with one of the greatest gifts this world has to offer: a little sister. Two short years later the blessings kept on coming, I was now the oldest sibling to not only a little sister, but a little brother as well. Throughout the years (19 very short years) we have grown and we have changed but you will forever be my Claudie and my Nicky (and I will continue calling you that until we are in our 50’s). Thank you for being the most wonderful, fun, and selfless siblings this world has to offer.