I’ve always been really competitive.
On reflection I think it started about the time I realised I wasn’t the first born son in the fourth generation of our farming family, when the first born son (my brother) was born when I was 18 months old. His birth heralded much excitement – he was named in the family tradition, a special bank account was opened for him and he was the long awaited heir to the farm. From somewhere between here and my first memories at around four, I had already worked out that in my world competing was an ace strategy (not that anyone was competing with me; they all just let me go for it!). I ate a lot of food I didn’t like and opened a lot of gates and chased a lot of sheep all in the name of winning.
I’m pretty sure I won; my Mum likes to say I’m just like my Dad. My siblings liked to snicker about “golden girl”…..
So now, I’m making up for it, coz I adore those two sisters and one brother of mine.
A couple of nights ago I was at my big sister’s house. She such a great sister and aunty and let my biggest girl and I lounge around while she made us pots of organic peppermint tea and fed us sugar free nougat. I was lamenting how unfair it was that they (my sister and her husband) met at a local pub many moons ago and still get to be in love. She sang a little ditty about “finding love in all the wrong places” and danced like they did when they met in the late eighties/early nineties across the beer garden.
And then she said:
“Thanks”
Me: “what for?”
Her: “well statistically about 50% percent of relationships fail right, so by you having all the break ups, we all get to stay together”.
Me: laughing, a lot….and feeling so much better about all my lamenting.
And you know what?
You’re welcome. I love you guys and your guys. I hope you all get forever with each other because that’s what I believe in, and if I’m helping with that, even better!
Statistically I think I’ve done my share for our family now though. I think I’ve redeemed all the times I dobbed on you when we were younger so I’d look good.
I am finally a team player! Yay for me!
PS This is the stuff you find on Pinterest when you search for “taking one for the team”!
[…] on my reading!). I am guilty of having that forever guy cornered, so it was a small comment about her brother and farming heirs that caught my […]
[…] That time was hard. It was hard to be your Mum and love you and just hope you got through it and were OK. Sometimes I wasn’t sure. I did always know when you were hung-over though, even when you tried to say it was because you didn’t get enough sleep at movie nights. I would purposely get your sisters’ to disturb you or make you eat dinner when I knew you felt gross! Now you are 18 I hope your hangovers get less horrible but it’s not looking too hopeful. Haha, that’s a shame. And of course I never want you to get your heart broken, but it already happened once, so I hope (via my example) I can teach you to make good choices. Sorry I haven’t set a very good example to date, but my plan (because I’m so good at planning) has been to save you from some of life’s hard lessons by taking one for the team! […]