Growing up I was blessed with the gift of having four siblings. As a result of that, if my childhood home could be described with one word, it would’ve been loud.
My youngest brother’s video games constantly had the volume up way too high. My older sister liked to play her violin even if I was trying to go to sleep. There was never a dull moment.
Very rarely did I have the house to myself. I didn’t even get to have my own room until around the age of nine.
As I sit here writing this in my quiet college apartment, with my roommates at school or work or doing whatever else, I can’t help but miss the constant noise.
Being the second oldest of five, I always had someone to lead the way for me. My older sister, Cheyenne, left our childhood home a few years before I did. She went a little far and moved across the country to Florida.
I’m fortunate enough to see her every couple of months. Every time I pick her up from the airport it is like no time has passed and there are always tears shed the minute she has to leave again.
During my trips to visit her or when she flies back for holidays, we always have a sleepover and it reminds me of the bunk bed that we had when we were little.
Because I was the younger sister, she made the rules, so I always had the lower bunk. This was not to my liking. There were a lot of things that were up to her for whatever reason, like where I sat in the car or what “One Direction” member was my favorite.
When people ask me about my older sister, I tell them that she’s just like me but cooler. This is something I would never openly admit to her face.
I would give all the money in the world to be able to go back in time 10 years and play Barbies with her again. When I think back I can see the room we shared that was full of stuffed animals, Zhuzhu pets and the dollhouse that my grandpa had built for my mom when she was little.
Thankfully, I had a brother who was born two years after I was, and I could boss him around the same way that I was bossed around. He could only play certain video games with us if there was a player three option, and the TV station was under my complete control if Cheyenne wasn’t there.
The thing I miss the most about living with my siblings is that we got to watch each other grow. They have seen me through some extremely cringe-worthy phases of my life. (And I’ve definitely seen them through the same.)
Now that I do not see them much anymore, it seems like time is moving considerably faster and they are getting so much older right before my eyes.
My baby brother started middle school this year but yet it feels like I was just changing his diapers yesterday. My little sister just went to her first high school homecoming dance. She’s too old to invite me to have tea parties anymore. All of these things happened for the last time at some point and I didn’t even realize.
Time flies. I’m so grateful I have four built-in lifelong best friends and that I got to grow up with them. They make sure that I never have to go through anything alone.
Jochum can be reached at [email protected].
