I read these in a magazine and thought it was good advice. Just sharing.
Back row. Dad holding Martel, Mom
Lewis, Kristeen, Don, Maurice, Teresa {just so you know, two are missing from this picture....they were to come much later....Pam and John}
- Childhood is like Vegas:Let what happened there stay there. Don't guilt yourself over the mind games you played on your brother, and stop accusing your sister of stealing the sweater you bought in Florence, cira 1992. Make a conscious effort to forgive these childhood misdeeds and they'll soon be water under the Ponte Vecchio.
- Stop being the family mole. Ever- shifting alliances, surreptitious confabs, stealth reconnaissance...you'd think we were talking about The Bourne Identity and not those other people born to your Mother. Sibling relationships are often defined by behind- the back gossiping, whether that means secretly slamming one sib to the other or listening greedily as your parents decry your brother's latest over-the-top electronics purchase. As expected, all this duplicitous chatter erodes honesty and makes it nearly impossible for you to be as close-knit with your clan as you would like. So cut it out. And if you're finding it difficult to tear yourself aways from, say, Sister's gripe-fest, remember that she most likely lets loose about you, too.
- B GRS TXT Frnds- People are busy and hour long chats are hard to do. You're actually more likely to supercharge your bond by having frequent casual contact. Text Messaging, {thanks Martel I especially like the pictures of your lunch.=) commenting on a facebook update, checking in on each others blogs.
- Quit being jealous of others. Maybe your best friend and her sisters routinely send each other homemade cookies. When you witness others sharing tight ties with their brethren, it can be easy to devalue your own relationships...if say, exchanging birthday cards constitutes meaningful contact between you and your sister. Remember, though, that there are different depths to each bond and that somewhere inside that group hug, someone is usually dropping an elbow. Plus if you are worried about the bond...look at what you do first, are you going out of your way to help it? It's easy to point a finger to let them know what they are not doing....not so easy to look at what we do.
- Mind your Manners- You don't have to be formal with siblings, but a petty comment still rattles, no matter how close you are to them. Digs about weight, grammar usage etc. are never fun to receive.
I thought this was pretty good advice, that we all could probably use from time to time.
