Red Mosquito

I've got two brothers, 9,5 and 5,5 years older than me. I have a good relationship with both. We have some similarities, but are also quite different from each other.

The eldest was quite the school genius (like Higgs' brother), although lacked the will (or ambition and drive if looked at critically) to make it big. He's had the same safe well paying job for 25+ years. In some ways our relationship has been closer as adults, than as kids, due to the age difference, although we were always a close knit family. The two of us and our families celebrate every major holiday together. His wife is Ukrainian, I was the best man at their wedding, and like me, they live in Oslo. They are raising her daughter together, since she was six years old (13 now). He was the one that introduced me to video games, and he bought a Commodore 64 when I was just five years old, however he no longer does any gaming. Personality wise, he is very calm, analytical, and practical.

The youngest of my two older brothers, was much more of a social being growing up, outspoken, funny and with lots of friends. He was a bit of a nightmare for me when I was below ten, but after that we became really close. I think we share some of the same passion, although for him it more easily can come out as anger or negativity, but also more often in natural charm and social skills. He was a big inspiration for me in my love of music, and he was a Pearl Jam fan for a full year, before I got on board, in the early 90s. He finished his education as a teacher, but has been a salesman ever since. For a while he was a manager of two shops, as well as doing sales, but then changed to a job where he could more fully focus on sales. He's been in a relationship for 20 years now, with a woman that is 11 years older than him. She had three kids from before, and the youngest was 16 when they moved in together. He's been a fantastic help for my mother, as they both still live in the city I grew up in.

The three of us and my mother, have a chat together, where we talk about our lives and family stuff, as well as our local football (soccer) team from where we grew up. There's usually something posted there every day.

Messenger chats are so good for keeping in contact with your family. A real positive of social media imo. We have a chat with our kids and the wiffey's family, but not with mine, which is a shame.

My brother doesn't do Facebook and my mum doesn't do mobile phones or online at all.

I have one sister who is 5.5 years older than me. She is an angel. I don't know what I'd do without her.

Are we similar? No. Someone once said I must have been raised by a pack of wolves

Higgs wrote:Messenger chats are so good for keeping in contact with your family. A real positive of social media imo. We have a chat with our kids and the wiffey's family, but not with mine, which is a shame.

My brother doesn't do Facebook and my mum doesn't do mobile phones or online at all.

Love Messenger, videos actually come through clearly. My sister texts videos of her kids a lot, and they were always tiny and grainy - basically unwatchable.

Im the only son from mom and dad, then i have a sister from my mom´s side and three brothers my dad´s. I consider all of them to be brothers and sister not half this half that.

Im the older (and wiser) the my older brother is 5 years younger, my sister 8 years, another brother 9 years and the last one 14 years. They are from different sides so my relationship with my sister was always the best one, as i took care of her when she was little while my mom was divorcing her dad.

My older brother is the more difficult one, he has a really big depression since forever, and probably a bi polar disorder. We are close too, as close as you can be anyway, but he lived in my place for nearly 7 months when he had a really big fight with his family. He doesnt not have any kind of relationship with his other two brothers, who suffered him as kids and now they cant really see him as someone ill with very strong flaws.

But i managed to get them together in places and they are better now.

four younger sisters. im very close with all of them. the oldest sister is a pj fan & when we were both into the band, we’d go to shows together. she’s got pretty impecable taste. she and the next oldest are married to guys they dated in high school and each has two kids. best part of my life is seeing them. Sister numero two is a killer at work & a bit of micromanager w family stuff, though that has benefits.

i started working for the third youngest (who alex may have tried to court) six weeks ago. she’s wild like i was and a real charmer. the youngest is the most practical and the smartest — an accountant — and my and the third youngest sister’s misadventures have created a strong sense of discipline in her.

we all get together at least once a week for dinner w my parents & mom’s parents.

the sisters used to align against each other, 2 & 3 v 1 & 4, but as intra-competition diminished, there’s less division

spike wrote:

Higgs wrote:Messenger chats are so good for keeping in contact with your family. A real positive of social media imo. We have a chat with our kids and the wiffey's family, but not with mine, which is a shame.

My brother doesn't do Facebook and my mum doesn't do mobile phones or online at all.

Love Messenger, videos actually come through clearly. My sister texts videos of her kids a lot, and they were always tiny and grainy - basically unwatchable.

most kids are ...

I have a brother who is four years older than me. Our parents had us both before they were 25, so we were all just kind of figuring it out together as children. We were pretty close growing up. As the youngest I tagged along to his sporting events, school activities, orthodontist appointments, etc., so we had a lot of bonding time. We shared a lot of interests and hobbies in the early years, but started to grow apart a bit once I went to college. We get along now, but our relationship is mostly surface level. Our lives just went in different directions and we both haven't done enough to continue to invest in the relationship.

Our personalities are very different. He's sort of a stubborn recluse with a great big laugh, but very short on patience. He struggled in school and likely has some undiagnosed learning disabilities that he's managed throughout his life with mixed results. He's had steady work his whole life, but isn't overly ambitious. My kids love him and he has such a big heart. He struggles to communicate what he's really feeling/thinking, so it can be difficult to have a deep conversation.

Recently, he moved in with first serious girlfriend and he's starting to really break out of his shell a bit. It's a big change in the larger family dynamic to have a new person in the mix. I'm really happy for him to have a partner. All that time along led to some pretty dark places.

I have three half-siblings–two sisters, and a brother. One sister is five years older than me. The other is six years older. My brother is ten years older than me. Up until I was 43/44, I thought I was an only child. It’s a long, complicated story, which I’m still working through. It’s put a lot of distance between my mom and me.

I’ve been lucky enough to meet all of them, and they’ve been great and very welcoming. One of my sisters lives three hours away, and we’ve met up a few times. We text/talk on the phone too. I have three nieces from them. All are adults now.

Sometimes it bums me out that we found each other so late in life, and I didn’t get to be the annoying little brother or ever meet/be around my/our bio dad (he passed in ‘96) or watch my nieces grow up.

I am grateful for the time we have now.

Oh, and I guess we're similar in some ways. My sister who lives a few hours away struggles with anxiety like me.

thanks for asking me that question

i don't want to talk about it

dad wrote:I have three half-siblings–two sisters, and a brother. One sister is five years older than me. The other is six years older. My brother is ten years older than me. Up until I was 43/44, I thought I was an only child. It’s a long, complicated story, which I’m still working through. It’s put a lot of distance between my mom and me.

I’ve been lucky enough to meet all of them, and they’ve been great and very welcoming. One of my sisters lives three hours away, and we’ve met up a few times. We text/talk on the phone too. I have three nieces from them. All are adults now.

Sometimes it bums me out that we found each other so late in life, and I didn’t get to be the annoying little brother or ever meet/be around my/our bio dad (he passed in ‘96) or watch my nieces grow up.

I am grateful for the time we have now.

Oh, and I guess we're similar in some ways. My sister who lives a few hours away struggles with anxiety like me.

Sounds like you all are making the best of the situation. Did your half-siblings know about you?

Monkey_Driven wrote:

dad wrote:I have three half-siblings–two sisters, and a brother. One sister is five years older than me. The other is six years older. My brother is ten years older than me. Up until I was 43/44, I thought I was an only child. It’s a long, complicated story, which I’m still working through. It’s put a lot of distance between my mom and me.

I’ve been lucky enough to meet all of them, and they’ve been great and very welcoming. One of my sisters lives three hours away, and we’ve met up a few times. We text/talk on the phone too. I have three nieces from them. All are adults now.

Sometimes it bums me out that we found each other so late in life, and I didn’t get to be the annoying little brother or ever meet/be around my/our bio dad (he passed in ‘96) or watch my nieces grow up.

I am grateful for the time we have now.

Oh, and I guess we're similar in some ways. My sister who lives a few hours away struggles with anxiety like me.

Sounds like you all are making the best of the situation. Did your half-siblings know about you?

We are! and...nope. They had no idea I existed. We all lived in the same town in Connecticut as kids too, which makes it even more serendipitous that one of my sisters ended up moving to Texas years after I'd moved to Oklahoma. The other siblings live in California now.

a brother and a sister

brother i live with. for now its just a matter of proximity to our step-father. he lives next door and we keep an eye on him. brother works from home so sees him in the morning. i come home and we have family time (watching westerns on INSP, Cheyene, Gunsmoke and Rawhide). complete opposite of me and cannot stand when i make a suggestion. will snap at me if i do but if one of my cousins says the same thing he agrees with them. he is 2 years older

my sister legally is my step sister. she passed away going on 8 years ago july 1st. was sitting at her desk working and my niece found her slumped over. aneurysm. she was 5 years older than me and lived in california since 1985 with my father and stepmother. looked out for me but picked on me as a kid as older siblings doo. as kind a person as you would have encountered (think joey only of the female variety)

Peeps wrote:a brother and a sister

brother i live with. for now its just a matter of proximity to our step-father. he lives next door and we keep an eye on him. brother works from home so sees him in the morning. i come home and we have family time (watching westerns on INSP, Cheyene, Gunsmoke and Rawhide). complete opposite of me and cannot stand when i make a suggestion. will snap at me if i do but if one of my cousins says the same thing he agrees with them. he is 2 years older

my sister legally is my step sister. she passed away going on 8 years ago july 1st. was sitting at her desk working and my niece found her slumped over. aneurysm. she was 5 years older than me and lived in california since 1985 with my father and stepmother. looked out for me but picked on me as a kid as older siblings doo. as kind a person as you would have encountered (think joey only of the female variety)

Yeah durden definitely has a very kind way with words. Just don’t let him ask you to deliver him a sandwich.

Spoiler: show

epilogue wrote:

dad wrote:

epilogue wrote:I really do hate that he posts here.

And yet I really do recommend Yelapa.

I contain multitudes.

On RM in general, or in this specific thread?

I hate Bammer on RM in general and this specific thread.

I love Yelapa in general and in this specific thread.

I contain multitudes in general and in this specific thread.

Are they simila?

Bammer wrote:

Peeps wrote:a brother and a sister

brother i live with. for now its just a matter of proximity to our step-father. he lives next door and we keep an eye on him. brother works from home so sees him in the morning. i come home and we have family time (watching westerns on INSP, Cheyene, Gunsmoke and Rawhide). complete opposite of me and cannot stand when i make a suggestion. will snap at me if i do but if one of my cousins says the same thing he agrees with them. he is 2 years older

my sister legally is my step sister. she passed away going on 8 years ago july 1st. was sitting at her desk working and my niece found her slumped over. aneurysm. she was 5 years older than me and lived in california since 1985 with my father and stepmother. looked out for me but picked on me as a kid as older siblings doo. as kind a person as you would have encountered (think joey only of the female variety)

Yeah durden definitely has a very kind way with words. Just don’t let him ask you to deliver him a sandwich.

Spoiler: show

epilogue wrote:

dad wrote:

epilogue wrote:I really do hate that he posts here.

And yet I really do recommend Yelapa.

I contain multitudes.

On RM in general, or in this specific thread?

I hate Bammer on RM in general and this specific thread.

I love Yelapa in general and in this specific thread.

I contain multitudes in general and in this specific thread.

you are the villain in someones story. get used to it. joey has been nothing but nice to me so zip it

Whoever guesses and describes my sibling/family situation most accurately wins a mare

only child

Wrong

tree_ wrote:Whoever guesses and describes my sibling/family situation most accurately wins a mare

You have an older sister. That’s it.