Adult Siblings

 I wasn't blessed to have an adult sibling, so I do not have first hand knowledge of the joys and/or pains of that type of relationship.  The only experience I have has been through observation of family and friends.  Although I have seen several tight bounds between sisters that I know and wonderful working relationships among brothers, overall I have found quite a few adult sibling relationships to be wrought with jealousy, negativity and greed.  It has always been amazing to me that siblings could treat each other poorly.  Gossiping, backstabbing, and hatefulness seem to run rampant in some families.  I have never understood this behavior among others let alone family members.  

I wonder if the problem stems from childhood and if parents could be the cause.  It appears to me that some mothers and fathers clearly have favorites in a family or have financially given more to one of their children without explanation.  Maybe that has caused resentment that has turned into hate speech later in life.  I am thankful that Doug and his brothers do not fall into this category and enjoy listening to Doug's comments on their phone calls and texts. 

Most importantly I hope that our own children continue the lighthearted, supportive relationship that they have with one another.  On Thanksgiving Day I reminded them all that one day one of them would make more money than the others or perhaps have a better marital relationship than the rest.  It was up to them to not let jealousy or envy get in the way of maintaining their sibling bond.  In the end they will most likely all outlive Doug and I.  They will become the source of each others shared memories.  There will never be anyone else who will be able to relate to them as a sibling could, talk about their favorite vacations with or rib each other on bad haircuts and over zealous miniature golf rounds.  I hope that we have given them the foundation to keep that bond positive.  They definitely are four wonderful, unique individuals and I know they appreciate that about one another.