My Sisters Keeper

Being the youngest has it's advantages. For instance, there is no real purpose in learning to talk, or walk, or make any major decisions. The "elders" will do that for you. Whether it is out of desire to pamper or teach you, or just simple frustration from waiting for you to "do" something is another thing all together. But lets say for now, it is because they want to teach or pamper you. How much fun is it to have a younger sister.
If you are an older sister it is a great chance to play mom, practice nurturing and score points helping the mom. The mom always needs help, even if they don't work. There is going to be an event mom needs help preparing for, or cooking for or setting up the card tables for. Or there may be a babysitting opportunity which permits practice with "parenting" like establishing a bedtime or taking away dessert. And if you are an older brother it is to teach you self defense when being attacked by a wild tickle monster, the kind that won't quit until you are blue, you wet your pants or a parent says stop. Or it might be to teach you to share, say, the last soda which if poured by the brother will always yield him a larger portion once the foam goes down. Hmmmm
Not that my siblings did all these things, though there are many tales that will come up in the future writings I am sure. But the one thing I know is that my siblings cared for me. They protected me and made sure that I did not do dangerous things like stick my tongue on a cold metal pole in the winter, or run away without properly packing my bags. They taught me to laugh, a lot! Often at nothing but a simple noise, like a hotel toilet that kept flushing all night long in the room overhead....splurge. Or a funny card on a birthday. Humor and laughter have kept us entertained for hours and given memories for retelling years down the road.
What I see now is a generation that is often self absorbed, missing the humor in the comic strips, or the fun that can be had playing cards until 2 a.m. with a table full of family or friends. They are techies, fixated on electronics; cell phones, gameboys, Facebook, computers......well, okay, you are on the computer now so that may include you! But the point is there is more out there than staring at a box. Perhaps it is that this cyber generation is finding relationships hard because they have fewer of them from the get go.
They are placed in front of the mighty TV, then transitioned to the Xbox without a single human interaction. Thank God for the Wii. At least most of those games require movement or we would all become true couch potatoes.
My advice is whether you have an interactive family or a group of friends who are able to complete a declarative sentence, plan a non-electronic event which will require conversation, touch and perhaps some good old fashioned laughter. Find some joy in the day, create a memory, have fun and laugh! Thanks siblings for making my life so rich and teaching me to laugh:)