Questions? What Questions?

Bet you thought I forgot about these, didn't you?

Isabel wonders:

What was your best family vacation, ever?

Vacations? Ha! While we took plenty of day trips to museums and the zoo and the park, the only time we ever went "away" was in the summer of 1995, when my father borrowed a camper from a guy at work and all seven of us spent two days on Lake Michigan, where my aunt and uncle have a cabin. (There were two reasons for my family's lack of travel, one being my mother is deathly afraid to ride in a moving vehicle for longer than eight minutes at a time, and two being that five children ranging in age from fifteen years to twenty-seven months can take a significant toll on the finances of a single-income unit.)

It was a nice time, but that was the first summer of Nick, The Boyfriend Who Went Three Weeks Without Calling, and playing in the sand or touring the lake via paddleboat couldn't compare to bawling my eyes out in the confines of our bathroom at home, wailing over life's injustices and what was wrong with me and why wasn't I prettier and why would he want to smoke pot when he could be making out with me and please just caaaaaall me already.

Obviously, I was a delight.

Which sibling do you get along with the best?

When I first read this question, I assumed this translated into "Which sibling are you closest to?" A hard question, to be sure, but it was on the second reading I realized it has more to do with the meshing of personalities. Truth of the matter is that I get along well with all of my siblings. I can spend forty minutes on the phone with each one of them and cover as many different conversations, without uncomfortable pauses or small talk about the weather.

I will say the age difference between Samantha and me is such that it allows us to have a unique relationship. We're so often in the same place, so often able to support each other on equal footing, without the mentoring aspect that sneaks into our relationships with Ryan, Geo, and Donna.

She's also the only one I can talk to about sex without feeling dirty.

The worst? And why?

This question is harder because it deals with the clashing of personalities. I end up rephrasing it as "Who do I have the worst arguments with?" and reflecting on my many faults as a sister.

With that in mind, I say Ryan, our middle child, the brave soul who abandoned traditional college this year to pursue her dream of attending cosmetology school. It has nothing to do with how close we are (because I think we are close) and everything to do with our individual cores. My core begged my parents to let me have a job when I was a sophomore in high school and join nine different clubs. It revels in maintaining categorized to-do lists and outlining bill schedules months in advance and thinking about Christmas budgets in September. Ryan's core is more exploratory and less concerned with details. Ryan's core liberated her enough to attend two different four-year colleges in two years. It doesn't worry about reading the full terms of her apartment lease or submitting her loan papers on time, even if it delays the receipt of her reimbursement check from August to November. And when she does get it, her core has no problems spending it on a week-long stint in the Bahamas.

Pair that with my mother-bear instinct to steer all cubs from harm's way and it's easy see where the source of our conflict lies. Why can't I shut my trap about the logistics of responsible lending and just be happy she enjoyed her freakin' spring break? Especially since I spent my own loan surpluses on Saint Joe sweatshirts and Pantene Pro-V. She actually made the better choice.

I'll wrap up with Lizzy's and Lost A Sock's questions in my next entry, and then we can all rejoice in the fact that it only took me A MONTH to put this damn meme to rest. I'm nothing if not punctual.

Comments

[Silly Hily]

That first one about the boyfriend and why he would rather smoke pot than "make out with me" cracked me up.
I didn't realize there was such an age difference in the oldest and youngest child in your family. Wow.

[Lost A Sock]

You did such a great job discussing your siblings. And you are really a great example for them.

I used to love when you would get things in the mail at school from Donna that would always end with "P.S. Donna." I remember how you hung them with pride on our big old ugly closets. :0)

[Jenabeeb]

Thanks for the answers. Looking forward to the rest. And don't forget, you were tagged again recently!

[Britt]

Isn't it amazing how different siblings can be? I like to think of myself as "the normal one" but I'm sure my siblings think I've got it all wrong.

[Isabel]

Family's are fun, huh??!! Thanks for answering my questions today. Always fun to learn more about people.