Do You Get Along With Your Brothers/Sisters?
By Janey1966
@Janey1966 (24170)
Carlisle, England
May 25, 2011 8:24am CST
My brother lives 100 miles away, around the corner from Mum. He has had his problems with drink in the past but I'm pleased to say he has stopped all that and now doesn't drink at all! It's a shame he didn't stop 10 years ago when his son was a lot younger but at least he's managed it and we're all very proud of him. I do love him as a brother but he is introverted and quite hard to chat to. He is extremely generous though as money isn't that important to him, so long as he can pay the mortgage. He is very hard-working and I'm pleased that he kept his job. It was a worrying time for him but he can relax now and immerse himself in working outside for a living, something he has done for about 25 years. He is still only 44!
Mum has a brother, a half-brother and a sister. Unusually, they all live in Blackpool like Mum does. I would say Mum is the closest to Joe, the sensitive one who is a paranoid schizophrenic. She visits him whenever she can and invites him round to the house occassionally. He doesn't get along with Dougie (his half-brother) and got upset when he visited him in hospital a couple of years ago. Despite Joe not wanting him there the nurses let him in anyway. Fortunately, there was no trouble but that's not the point. Joe's wishes should've been granted.
Mum also has a half-sister up in Edinburgh she found out about only a couple of days before her Dad died. They were good at keeping secrets then!
As for Enid (Mum's sister) she's made the wrong decisions regarding blokes and has been divorced for quite some time. She was nasty when younger but she's also vulnerable like Joe is and Mum blames her sensitivity for the poor choices she has made in her life. Mum hasn't seen her or Dougie for quite some time. Hers isn't the closest of families.
As for Dad's sisters..one he does have time for (Sylvia) but the others...nooo waaay! They all live in Greater Manchester and it was the best decision he ever made moving to Blackpool to live, work and provide for my Mum and her little ones (me and Danny) so I shall always be grateful to him for moving us all there. Mum and Dad are still living in the same house they moved into way back in 1969.
John tolerates his sister, I would say but I cannot figure out if they are close or not. Angela has her life, John has his but, considering they both live in the same city they don't see each other that often.
Suits me!
How about you? Do you get along with your brothers and sisters? Are you spread about the country or live in the same Town or City?
Mum has a brother, a half-brother and a sister. Unusually, they all live in Blackpool like Mum does. I would say Mum is the closest to Joe, the sensitive one who is a paranoid schizophrenic. She visits him whenever she can and invites him round to the house occassionally. He doesn't get along with Dougie (his half-brother) and got upset when he visited him in hospital a couple of years ago. Despite Joe not wanting him there the nurses let him in anyway. Fortunately, there was no trouble but that's not the point. Joe's wishes should've been granted.
Mum also has a half-sister up in Edinburgh she found out about only a couple of days before her Dad died. They were good at keeping secrets then!
As for Enid (Mum's sister) she's made the wrong decisions regarding blokes and has been divorced for quite some time. She was nasty when younger but she's also vulnerable like Joe is and Mum blames her sensitivity for the poor choices she has made in her life. Mum hasn't seen her or Dougie for quite some time. Hers isn't the closest of families.
As for Dad's sisters..one he does have time for (Sylvia) but the others...nooo waaay! They all live in Greater Manchester and it was the best decision he ever made moving to Blackpool to live, work and provide for my Mum and her little ones (me and Danny) so I shall always be grateful to him for moving us all there. Mum and Dad are still living in the same house they moved into way back in 1969.
John tolerates his sister, I would say but I cannot figure out if they are close or not. Angela has her life, John has his but, considering they both live in the same city they don't see each other that often.
Suits me!
How about you? Do you get along with your brothers and sisters? Are you spread about the country or live in the same Town or City?4 people like this
13 responses
@dawnald (85137)
• Shingle Springs, California
25 May 11
My dad gets along with his sisters, some of my mom's brothers and sisters don't get along, but I get along with min. We are spread apart. My brother Alan moved to Spokane, WA back in 1994, my brother Dale is still in the Los Angeles area, and my sister and I are in Sacramento...
@dawnald (85137)
• Shingle Springs, California
25 May 11
Los Angeles is a one day drive, and Spokane is a two day drive.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
25 May 11
Wow, that's a long way! It's only an hour and a half to Mum's from here. Puts things in perspective, I guess.
Mind you, our petrol is miles dearer than yours because our stingy government have measurements in litres, not gallons. We used to have gallons but I think we have to be like Europe and have been for quite some time.
Unfortunately!
1 person likes this
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
25 May 11
Are there major distances between them as I appreciate that the USA is a far bigger country than ours.
1 person likes this
@jameygc (452)
• United States
26 May 11
I always have been very close to my sister. I have two sisters, but the little one, I am 19 years older than her, so we are living like different times. But the other one I am 5 years older than her. We used to do everything together. Now I am living very far from them, but still we maintain a very good communication by phone, facebook and others. Also with my little sister. She is 11 years old now and we talk about a lot of things. You know, she is almost a teenager, she thinks she is a big girl. ha ha ha! I am very happy and very glad my parents always put that little seed in our hearts about no matter what, we have each other.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
27 May 11
Awww, that's so sweet! I'm not a big fan of Facebook but for keeping in touch with family members that are far away, it's invaluable to people like yourself. Do you use Skype? I believe that is a good way of communicating as well. Good for you that you're close with everyone!
@SViswan (12051)
• India
28 May 11
Growing up, my sister and I have had our tiffs and tantrums but we were still close.Sometimes we were in different countries and since we are 7 years apart, there was a time when I did my own thing and she did hers even though we stayed in the same home. Though we fought often, when I got married and moved to a different state, both of us missed each other...she was still in high school at the time. It's been a little more than a decade since then and over the years we've both grown up and matured. We get along well now. In the past 10 years, we were in 2 different continents...but now we are in the same country but different states. But we talk to each other regularly.
@chiyosan (30186)
• Philippines
29 Nov 11
I think i do. i mean, often we would have arguments but that i think are petty ones we can let pass at any given time. :D hehe we do not have weird or arguments that would make us really hate each other, or curse each other while shouting so i guess we do get along pretty well.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
29 Nov 11
No shouting in either of my families, either mine or my in-laws, so that's a relief!
@sacmom (14192)
• United States
1 Aug 11
I only have one (full-blooded) sister and no, we do not get along. This is her choice. She decided on it years ago. I don't bother to push the issue. I've been there and done that. I got tired of trying a long time ago.
The rest are step siblings. I have steps on both my mom's side as well as my dad's. I don't really know my step brothers on my dad's side. I did met them a few times when I was younger, but we never really had any kind of relationship. And I never did meet any step siblings from my mom's side. But that's mostly due to my step dad not wanting anything to do with them.
Last I heard my sister lives somewhere in the Bay Area, so she's about a hundred miles from me. I have no idea where any of my step siblings are...
That's okay with me though. Just consider me an only child! LOL
Happy mylotting!
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
27 Aug 11
Awww! At least you don't "beat yourself up" over it, which is great! Good for you.
@JenInTN (27514)
• United States
26 May 11
I only have half brothers and sisters. No..we are not close. I guess we could be, but I left the family when I was in my teens. Long story..but I never went back until I got a phone call a few years ago saying my father was passing. I went to the hospital everyday after work to sit with him. I saw family I had not seen in what seemed a hundred years. We talked and I thought that maybe...just maybe we would develop a relationship..but so far none of us have put forth any effort. I think they just contacted me in hopes I would help pay the costs. I might be wrong though.
My half sister on my mother's side, no relationship either. It has been even longer since I have seen my mother and her. I did remember my grandmother telling me my mother had give a boy up that was a couple of years younger than me for adoption. I happened to chance upon a post looking for my mother from the boy's adopted mother. I have tracked them down..but they never called or answered my calls. I guess they don't want to talk either...lol...anyway..I have made myself available..but there is not much else I can do.
We are spread over the state. My sisters and a brother are an hour away. The adopted brother..maybe and hour and a half.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
27 May 11
You've done all you can and you have done the right thing in letting them decide on what to do next.
Mum has relatives over in America that I tracked down after researching our family history but they did a lot better than us in as far as making money goes (better jobs, etc) and I couldn't help thinking that THEY think we're after their money, which couldn't be further from the truth. They do know where Mum lives but the only place they visit is Oxford, where a relative from the Air Force is buried (hence how all this started, he is the connection between us and the US) and if my Grandad had emigrated to the US like his brothers I wouldn't be here!
Mum has relatives over in America that I tracked down after researching our family history but they did a lot better than us in as far as making money goes (better jobs, etc) and I couldn't help thinking that THEY think we're after their money, which couldn't be further from the truth. They do know where Mum lives but the only place they visit is Oxford, where a relative from the Air Force is buried (hence how all this started, he is the connection between us and the US) and if my Grandad had emigrated to the US like his brothers I wouldn't be here!
@ElicBxn (64177)
• United States
26 May 11
I have a brother and a sister.
To give you an idea how well my brother and I get along, neither of us would accept the other being the executor of mom's estate.
I talk to my sister in Tennessee more than I talk to my brother here in town. Heck, I talk to his GIRLFRIEND more than I talk to him!
I always said that I got along much better when he was a hundred or so miles away...
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
26 May 11
Oh my! Well, at least there are alternatives, so to speak.
1 person likes this
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
25 May 11
Mum would love it if I came to visit every weekend. Unfortunately, this isn't possible. Firstly, the cost of getting there is astronimical now plus it's only my husband that can drive..and he works most days. I can't expect him to take me to Mum's every weekend. I used to commute HERE on the train but, again, the expense is too much. I quite like seeing my folks less frequently as we have so much to say. It's good that I can ring Mum up three times a week as well. Telephones are still important, even now.
@thaMARKER (2503)
• Philippines
25 May 11
yes we do get along very well every time we're gathered in our parents house. i really jam with my brothers and sister because i live away from home. i go home once a year so i make sure we see each other. my sister lives nearby so sometimes we hang out, like once in a month..
i miss my family. i remember when we were young, we always sit at the balcony and talk whatever, laugh at my fathers jokes, eat and have some coffee in the afternoon. i miss that.
i guess ive been away from home for a very very long time. i started living away from them since high school cause i had to go to a better school.
hopefully we'll make a blast this year once i go home..
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
25 May 11
You know what they say, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder" so I reckon you WILL have a blast once you go home.
I always do!
@sender621 (14889)
• United States
25 May 11
I have always had a good relaationship wih my sister. i am the oldest sibling and she is the youngest.
growing up i did not always het along with my brothers. Now that we are adults we have all grown up and have good relationships with each other. family is a blessing and it a shame when family members can not get aalong. we can be missing something very special.@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
25 May 11
Yes, I reckon my family is the same. We appreciate what we have and we're also lucky that my parents never got divorced, as so many do now. Granted, Mum and Dad are like opposites in many ways BUT they have always been like that. It's not like my Dad has suddenly decided he's got a stubborn streak, he's always been that way! So many couples split up over the slightest thing now and it's a shame because any kids they may choose to have, suffer for it.
@hardworkinggurl (37062)
• United States
26 May 11
Hi there,
I have no idea where my six siblings are, except for one and she and I do not have any communication. Sadly I was not raised with them so we do not really know one another. I have met a few but I was older at the time and we really did not bond.
I have however, did my best to make sure both of my kids get a long well and they do communicate with one another constantly, sometimes too much because I hear from one what the other told them before me. lol
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
26 May 11
It's great that you have raised your kids that way...good for you!
@changjiangzhibin89 (17244)
• China
26 May 11
I have an elder sister who is 69 and a younger sister ,60 years old this year.They both are retired.According to the regulations,over here women usually retire at the age of 50.We all live in the same city,located at the bank of Yangtze river.We get on well with one another.My mother lives with us now so they come here to see mother every monday and engage in small talk with us.At the Spring Festival-the lunar New Year's Day,We visit one another to pay a New Year call. On an occasion for celebration,Our whole family have a dinner party,our happiness knows no bounds.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
26 May 11
I'd love to be a part of your family, it sounds a great place to be, by the Yangtze river.
@murkie (1103)
• Philippines
25 May 11
i live far away from my family. and yes, i get along with my siblings. most of the time, at least.
of course, there maybe disagreements sometimes. but i think that's normal. we never had any major conflicts while growing up together. and the physical distance seems to increase our respect fro each other.
we may not talk too often, but when we do, we don't argue. one reason is that a strong family value is inherent among asians. and i may give credit to that. =)
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
25 May 11
I can't remember the last time I argued with my brother..years ago I would think! We didn't really get on whilst growing up but we snapped out of once we reached our mid-teens. He's not one for confiding in about things (although I reckon he'd be brilliant at keeping a secret) as my Mum is the one I turn to for that.
Oh, and not forgetting hubby of course!
