My brothers are younger than me by kind of a lot; Jeremy John is 12, soon to be 13, and Dalton is 11. I was 6 when Jeremy was born and 8 when Dalton was born.
My family makes an effort to do things together, so I have spent a lot of time with my brothers in the past, but it feels like this summer we've spent more quality time together than ever before. We do things together in a way that didn't happen in the past despite having important things in common. We all played soccer, but we never really did that together. Now, however, we've found things we all enjoy to do together.
My siblings and I have a different relationship because of our age difference. They're almost always at each other's throats for some reason or another and sometimes they can be downright mean to each other, but they listen to what I say (most of the time) and openly show the affection they have for me.
Because my brothers love me so much, being a big sister means that I have the responsibility of showing them that I love them just as much.
I realized this each time I returned home from college for one reason or another throughout my first year. Each time I returned home I got to see how much they missed me and how much they wanted to spend time with me. Over winter break we started watching the TV show 'Stranger Things' together at my suggestion because during the fall semester I wanted to figure out some way to spend time with them when I returned home. Also, my brothers are about the same age as the characters, so I figured they'd be able to really appreciate the show, which they did.
Their commentary while we do things together really helps me to appreciate who they are as people instead of just my younger brothers. I think they're hilarious and a little ridiculous at times and they remind me a lot of myself as well as both of my parents.
The older they get the more they become my friends instead of just my brothers. This summer I've really enjoyed the time I've spent with them. For that I really have my significant other to thank for that; Robert taught us all to play the Pokemon card game, and so I've gotten to spend a lot of time doing something with my brothers, which hasn't really happened in the past. Now we actually hang out and do things together, all thanks to Pokemon. I even play the video game now, which I never did before. My brothers really like Robert and we all do things together sometimes, and that makes my heart really full. I'm very appreciative of Robert's role in helping my brothers and I figure out a new dynamic upon my return from college for the summer.
Of course, we have our sibling squabbles, but this summer has really helped me to realize that my brothers are going to be the people who are going to be by my side for my entire life, and I'm really lucky for that.
