Growing up with brothers and sisters, siblings (usually) have an irreplaceable bond â complex and beautiful all at once. Youâre screaming bloody murder at each other one minute, staying up all night watching movies the next, tattling on each other for the smallest random offense after that, and then by the end of the day youâre plotting to take over the world.
Iâm the oldest of three. I have a brother who is a few years younger and a much-younger sister (never lived together). We're all close now as adults, but my brother and I (weâre three years apart) went through a major phase where we were constantly at each otherâs throats. Admittedly, I was the big sister/bossy and nagging, and he was the little brother/trouble and mess maker. Thinking back, at the same time we were at odds, we were also majorly protective of one another. I guess we can call that balance, eh?
Here are 10 of our favorite, funny tweets about what it's like to grow up with siblings, found through the #GrowingUpWithSiblings hashtag.
I told my brother he could eat half of my grapes.
Sharing is caring, but what do you do when your brother outsmarts you in the process? When he gave his brother half of his grapes, he probably didnât mean for him to take a bite out of each individual grape! We wonder if this was just an innocent misunderstanding or a sneaky (yet brilliant) tactic to get his sibling âgermsâ all over the grapes so his generous brother wouldnât get to eat the rest.
When you hit your sibling and they get in trouble for hitting you back.
This is a power move, for sure. Sometimes, a couple of years in age gives you the wisdom that the perfectly timed tap of a sibling, not in the view of parents, will result in retaliation. When that sibling is about to hit you back, make sure the parents can see it â and presto! The unsuspecting sibling is in trouble again.
When you trust them with something and they turn around and tell mom.
Sibling trust is a very delicate thing. You think of this person that has seen you through good times and bad as a confidante, and as youâre growing up together that trust is built, then broken, and built up again probably 100 times over. If youâve ever shared something sacred with your sibling and they couldnât wait to turn around and tell a parent, that betrayal cuts deep â but then itâs back to sharing secrets again.
You have an older sibling? They must be so nice and protective.
Being the older sibling is usually a dream. You get to be in charge and boss someone around â until that younger sibling learns how to milk every situation. Then the older sibling becomes the annoyed sibling who has to always be responsible for the younger sibling. Thatâs pretty much how the soccer ball to the face happens …
My claim to fame: As a child I sat between Meatloaf and Rod Stewart.
Kids always wonder what itâs like to be their favorite actor or musician. Imagine if your siblings looked like the mini-meâs of your rock star idols?! Wonder if these baby doppelgangers ever did a duet?
Watching them get snippy with mom/dad, knowing they are about to get it.
The whole time that your sibling is going off at the mouth, youâre thinking This one is going to be gooood or This is going to be really bad. Either way, you grab some chips and take a front-row seat. Were you the snippy sibling or the sibling who watched it all happen?
Wow! You two look exactly the same!
No matter how similar you look, siblings are not fans of hearing that they actually look alike. Then that one day when youâve grown up a bit and can finally see how you resemble your sibling, you canât unsee it. Itâs even funnier when people say, âYou two look exactly the same!â to twins!
When you say you're gonna take a shower and your sibling says, âNo, Iâm gonna shower first!"
Every night, around the same time, it never fails that siblings have this thing about taking a shower first. When neither sibling wants to take a shower but knows it has to be done, Theyâre theyâre both putting it off until the last possible minute. But when one sibling decides to make a run for the bathroom, itâs like a true olympic race has begun â and theyâre off!
I'm not touching you.
When you have siblings, you start out learning how to hug and play together, and share toys or a room, and sometimes even sleeping in the same bed. But as you get older, something happens and you canât stand being within close proximity of each other. And youâd better not touch! Saying âIâm not touching youâ but being thisclose to your sibling is the ultimate mind game.
I understand Iâm not getting the kidney back, but lending out my charger??? GET OUTTA HERE STICKY FINGERS!!!
At the end of the day, most siblings love and adore each other, except for when it comes to borrowing a pen or a toy or an article of clothing. And please donât ask them to borrow their phone charger. They may never return it! How are you going to charge your phone when the battery runs out in 20 minutes?! Weâll defend our siblings against dragons and give them a kidney rather than part with an âessentialâ object.
