Always My Baby Sister
Oldest siblings know the feeling of one day waking up and realizing that, out of nowhere, your little sibling grew up.
A core part of who I am is being the oldest of my extended family - the oldest daughter, cousin, and grandchild. My family and I often laugh at the stereotypes of oldest versus youngest child. But, we laugh because it’s true.
My sister and I, before I became a Tar Heel.
Since I was a toddler I have been meticulous, organized, and in favor of making plans and sticking to them. My parents used to think I’d grow up to be a lawyer based on my attention to detail and ability to find a loophole in any scenario.
Then, there was my sister. Delaney, or Laney as everyone calls her, is in many ways my opposite. Her childhood nickname was “hurricane-y” if that tells you anything. For every book I had color-coded and lined up perfectly, there was Laney, running in to throw things about to make herself laugh.
While our differences have of course led to an argument or two, they also help our family dynamic to flow. I plan for every scenario and she helps me realize it’s ok to chill out - even when that gets on my nerves. We bring about laughs and show our love for one another in our own ways - whether it be filling up each other’s TikTok inboxes or letting the other rant.
Being the oldest child, especially the oldest daughter, comes with a lot of responsibility and expectations. One of those expectations is to protect the younger kids.
Laney and I have gotten in countless tiffs where she has gotten mad at me for not treating her like she’s grown. But the truth is, when I look at her I still see a little girl, facing the same trials and tribulations that I’d been through only a few years prior.
When you have a little sibling who comes to you with certain problems or scenarios that you’ve been through, it’s difficult to not imagine how you felt or acted in those times. Often, I’ll listen to her describing things to me and all I want to be is the voice of reason, urging her to react in a way I wish I had when I was in her shoes.
It’s one of the toughest realizations as an older sibling that sometimes you just have to let them do their own thing. Even if you may think something will turn out exactly how it did for you if you don’t intervene, sometimes that’s exactly what needs to happen.
Like I said, it’s hard to let things pan out without intervening if you’ve been there before. But, realizing how different you are is sometimes the key to an idealistic relationship.
Sister relationships are truly like no other in the world. It’s typical to go from yelling at each other because she took another one of my shirts to going on a coffee run 15 minutes later.
No matter what, I will always protect my little sister. Love you, Laney!
You heard it here first,
Kylie
