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Post by Sorrel on Nov 15, 2018 1:44:54 GMT
Wow, lots of big families here. I have one brother, he doesn’t have kids. We get along okay, but I only see/speak to him once a year. I have two daughters and a stepson. DH is an only child. I’m really glad we have small families because generally I find people exhausting.
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Post by iamkristinl16 on Nov 15, 2018 1:53:24 GMT
I have a complicated family system. My parents divorced when I was four. They had me, and twin boys (three years younger than I am). My dad met my stepmom when I was six, but they didn't get married and have other kids until I was 15. They had four kids--three girls, who are now 29, 24 and 18 and one boy who is 26. My brothers and I lived primarily with our mom, and saw dad and the rest of the family every other weekend and more time during the summer. With the age differences and not living with them much, we get along but are not that close. My younger sisters are all very close and my half brother, who has had some struggles until the last few years, is not nearly as close to them. They all live in the same town currently. I live in MN, grew up in IA. My twin brothers both live in Portland, OR. They are very close, and work at the same company. In a lot of ways I feel like I am an outlier (my half brother as well). We all get along, but neither he nor I have a super close relationship with any of the others. I think we would be closer if I lived where they do, though. My mom got remarried when I was in college. Her husband has two kids, who are now also married with kids. Again, we all get along but don't see each other often and are not close. My dad died 13 years ago. My stepmom got married 7 years ago. Her husband has three kids who have families. I don't have any drama with them, but stepmom and some of the sisters have had some from what I hear. It seems like petty stuff. I have four boys. I hope that they are close when they grow up. They get along like brothers now, lol, but I don't know that any of them would describe another brother as a close friend at this point.
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scrapngranny
Pearl Clutcher
Only slightly senile
Posts: 4,763
Jun 25, 2014 23:21:30 GMT
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Post by scrapngranny on Nov 15, 2018 2:10:10 GMT
I’m an only. I have 3 kids 2 girl’s 18 month apart and boy 4 years younger than #2. Number 2 and 3 never got along from day one. Still don’t. Right now number 2 and number 1 aren’t getting along either, after being very close for many years. The common denominator in the equation seems to be #2. Mom knew new what she was doing when she only had one!!
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snappydog
Full Member
Posts: 171
Sept 11, 2014 22:53:41 GMT
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Post by snappydog on Nov 15, 2018 2:15:12 GMT
There were 3 kids in my family. My sister, brother, and myself. I have lost both siblings to Type I Diabetes. My parents have buried two children and are left with me—I’m blind from a rare genetic eye disease. Swimming in a bad gene pool!
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Post by Horse scrap on Nov 15, 2018 2:18:34 GMT
I am an only. I always loved it until my dad died. I realized that even thought my parents raised 2 of my cousins, it’s not the same. I wish I had a sibling. My DH had 2 brothers- 1 is 12 yrs older than him and they get along, but never talk. The other brother was 9 yrs older than Dh but died at 18 yrs old. We have 3 sons, 39, 31 and 30. The 2 younger ones live together and get along great. The oldest loves the younger ones, but the age gap is a little much, and he’s a police officer and confirmed bachelor. No grands yet.
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Post by ntsf on Nov 15, 2018 2:27:08 GMT
my parents were only children and I think they were lonely when they grew up. there are 4 of us.. and i am the only one who talks to all of them. the rest don't get along. one has mental illness and is difficult to deal with. I am close to one brother. his kids and my kids are pretty friendly. my kids don't know their other cousins at all. I actually have few relatives I know--there are few descendents of my great grandparents' families. on the other hand, dh has lots of cousins he doesn't ever know or see.. and we have the only grandkids on his side of the family.
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Post by huskermom98 on Nov 15, 2018 2:36:39 GMT
I have 3 sisters, 2 brothers, 1 half-sister, 2 stepsisters, and 4 stepbrothers (one is deceased). Almost all of us are married with kids (most have 2-4 kids each). We all get along for the most part (definitely prefer hanging out with some over others), but rarely see a couple because they live several states away.
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Post by needmysanity on Nov 15, 2018 2:40:25 GMT
I’m the youngest of 8 and between all of us we have over 115 kids and now greats. We are ginormous!
We get along but don’t always agree with each other. We choose to look past those annoyances and respect our differences and celebrate our time together.
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inkedup
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,837
Jun 26, 2014 5:00:26 GMT
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Post by inkedup on Nov 15, 2018 2:49:13 GMT
I come from a family of six; I have two sisters and three brothers. My sisters and I are all very close.
We love our brothers, but we don't like them. We disagree with most of their life choices (very poor by any measure) and feel that they take advantage of our parents.
I was the only sister who was present when our mother died. My dad looked directly at me - literally over my mother's dead body - and said, "it would kill me if anything happened between my children while I am alive. I just can't take any more."
And so, my sisters and I remain uncharacteristically silent. We are polite toward our brothers. We tell them we love them, which we do. But we aren't close. I'm so grateful for my sisters.
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TankTop
Pearl Clutcher
Refupea #1,871
Posts: 4,779
Location: On the couch...
Jun 28, 2014 1:52:46 GMT
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Post by TankTop on Nov 15, 2018 2:51:55 GMT
I have one brother and a father. That is the extent of my family. We are a phone call only, pretend to be close, kind of family.
I have two kids and they are close, but also in two different stages of life. Dd is freshman in college and son is an 8th grader.
I would do anything in this world to have more family. Dh travels through the week and I get so lonely. I would love to have someone to hang out with, celebrate holidays, birthdays, and life events.
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Post by bothmykidsrbrats on Nov 15, 2018 2:58:03 GMT
1 have 1 sister, and a half sister and brother. I also grew up with 2 step brothers and a step sister. My oldest SB lived with us for about a year, but I only met the other kids a handful of times in 20 years. They didn't like us and refused to spend time with us, so my step dad didn't bring them home on his visiting days. I speak to my sister and half brother (less now since he's a full blown MAGA Trump humper, but he has a catastrophic brain injury, so I give him a pass.) DH had 7 half brothers (5 living), and 3 half sisters. DH no longer speaks to any of his bat shit crazy selfish siblings, and for the most part, the others do not speak to each other. His family puts the fun in dysfunctional. My kids DS20 and DD16.5 are like peas and carrots, and know that when DH and I are gone, they are pretty much the only family they will have.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 20, 2024 18:07:11 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Nov 15, 2018 2:58:06 GMT
] That is not complicated.
This is completed: (Not my family) Mom: 2 before she got married 3 with first husband 2 with second husband 1 with dad ( pregnant before dad was divorced) Dad: 1 before he got married 3 with first wife 1 with mom.
All the first kids no longer have anything to do with mom/dad. The mom’s 2 talk to them but don’t go out of their way to include mom. Only the one they have together likes them.
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inkedup
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,837
Jun 26, 2014 5:00:26 GMT
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Post by inkedup on Nov 15, 2018 3:00:17 GMT
I have one brother and a father. That is the extent of my family. We are a phone call only, pretend to be close, kind of family. I have two kids and they are close, but also in two different stages of life. Dd is freshman in college and son is an 8th grader. I would do anything in this world to have more family. Dh travels through the week and I get so lonely. I would love to have someone to hang out with, celebrate holidays, birthdays, and life events. Come to Southern California and join our family! I don't have a lot of close blood relations, either. My oldest sister is semi retired and travels with her husband, and all of our cousins live in other states. Growing up, though, my parents' house was always full of friends and people. My mom was the kind of person who was on a first name basis with the two homeless men who frequented the gas station near their house; Mike and Shamrock (yes, Shamrock) spent a few Thanksgivings with us. Anyway, I'm so happy that my own home is the same. We have a huge holiday dinner and our friends who are also family make it so wonderful. There is always room for more. Hugs to you!!!
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Post by **GypsyGirl** on Nov 15, 2018 3:07:52 GMT
DH and I are both from small families, so I am always in awe of the stories of big families here, especially at holidays. I am the oldest of 3 girls, as well as a singleton since they are twins. That's always meant that I've been odd man out most of the time. We stay in touch, but I'm not super close to them. They are super close and talk to each other pretty much every day. We each went on to have 1 child each (all girls). There is a 14 year age spread between our daughters, so none of them are super close either. Mine is in the middle. I have an aunt on one side and an uncle on the other. Between them I had 8 cousins, but only 5 are still living. I'm in contact with all of them, but none live nearby. DH has 1 sister, who has 2 kids. We are not close to any of them because that's how his sister wanted it. You can try to foster a relationship just so long. Not really surprised though since DH's father had 3 sisters and I only met one of them in the 25 years or so they were all alive. The two I never met lived in the same community! I always told DH that my family was crazy and his was just weird! Besides those 3 aunts, DH has an uncle on his mom's side and 3 cousins. He's not close to the cousins at all. Once his mother died, contact became minimal with that side of the family. If I didn't keep in touch with them on Facebook, he would have no idea what they are up to.
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Post by fredfreddy44 on Nov 15, 2018 3:15:58 GMT
Neither totally average. Youngest of 4, only daughter, #3 children. I step and 2 own. Would have wanted more but the patience and the $$$ wasn't there.
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milocat
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,439
Location: 55 degrees north in Alberta, Canada
Mar 18, 2015 4:10:31 GMT
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Post by milocat on Nov 15, 2018 3:16:14 GMT
One sister and we each have 2 daughters. My sister is my best friend. My daughters don't get along, they fought like cats and dogs since they were 4 & 2. Probably stopped fighting and ignored each other around 14 & 12. Older DD just moved out. So we'll see what a few years and some maturity brings. Both sides of our family's are close and have always spent lots of time together. Younger DD is close with oldest niece.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 20, 2024 18:07:11 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Nov 15, 2018 3:16:51 GMT
My brother is 6 years older than I am. He is the family golden boy. I pretty much think he is a jerk and a thief. I have not talk to him since 2001 and I probably will never talk to him again.
My husband has 3 older brothers. They are 20 years older than he is, they are a different generation, so they are really no close.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 20, 2024 18:07:11 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Nov 15, 2018 4:03:09 GMT
My Dad’s father had 1 brother who had 2 daughters. My dad was an only child, who had 2 daughters. So, the family name dies out when my 81 yo dad passes away.
I have a son & a daughter. My sister has 1 daughter.
I have no aunts, uncles, cousins. A few distant relatives, I keep in touch but we are not close.
DH has one sister with 2 daughters.
We are all close as in we keep in touch & spend holidays together. Share memories.
I would have had more kids if I’d had more time & money.
I have 2 grandsons & a granddaughter on the way. We are very close to our grands.
There will be 15 relatives here for thanksgiving. It’s a happy houseful.
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Post by librarylady on Nov 15, 2018 4:08:06 GMT
I am #6 of 9 (2 males/7 females). During my childhood some cousins lived with us at various times for over a year. I guess when my aunts/uncles were in trouble, they sent the kids to a home with little money but lots of stability and love. As for our offspring--1 have 1 birth child and 2 step sons. 2 siblings have 4 children each, but the rest have smaller families.
ETA: We get along and are pretty close.
We have one sister who I wonder about having some bipolar tendencies. She can get angry about nothing and go on a tear. She got angry with her sisters and did not speak to any sister for 7 years, and then came back into the family as if nothing had ever happened. By close, I mean that we call one another often. We all qualify as elderly now, so we spend holidays/birthdays with our children/grandchildren etc. Except Thanksgiving when we try to gather for the feast. (I guess that is over as one brother moved 1200 miles away this summer to be near his only son.)
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Post by pierkiss on Nov 15, 2018 4:12:19 GMT
I only have 1 brother. We get along fine now, but we are not close.
My husband is 1 of 4. They do not get along at all. They all need to go to family therapy.
We have 4 kids. So far they get along pretty great. But they are all elementary aged and a toddler. I hope hey will be close as they get older. We will see.
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Kerri W
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,770
Location: Kentucky
Jun 25, 2014 20:31:44 GMT
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Post by Kerri W on Nov 15, 2018 4:22:54 GMT
I am the youngest of 8. 4 girls, 4 boys (one deceased). There are 22 grandchildren and 25 great grandchildren. We get along pretty well. We’ve never had a lot of conflict but when we do it’s short lived.
My mom 1 of 9 and my dad 1 of 3. DH is the youngest of 4. We have four children.
Needless to say, we’re a large group!
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Jili
Pearl Clutcher
SLPea
Posts: 4,363
Jun 26, 2014 1:26:48 GMT
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Post by Jili on Nov 15, 2018 4:38:56 GMT
I have a younger sister. My parents both come from large families. My dad is one of 10, and my mother is one of 6. They're both the second oldest in their families. I believe that my parents didn't want many children because of the chaos (and other things) of their large family experiences.
I get along just fine with my sister. I wouldn't say that we're super close, but things are good. I wish we lived closer together.
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Post by anniefb on Nov 15, 2018 7:48:50 GMT
Just one brother. He has one daughter and I don’t have kids. We get along reasonably well although we don’t see each other that often because we live 18,000km apart.
I think our relationship is more important to me than it is to him.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 20, 2024 18:07:11 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Nov 15, 2018 9:49:40 GMT
Growing up I had 3 brothers, one died many years ago and another one is as good as dead to me so I have 1 brother. That's enough 'family' for me.
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hannahruth
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,617
Location: Adelaide, Australia
Aug 29, 2014 18:57:20 GMT
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Post by hannahruth on Nov 15, 2018 10:51:25 GMT
I am the middle of 9 - two elder brothers (one deceased 2018) two elder sisters, myself, one younger sister and three younger brothers (twins)
Mum was on her own when the twins were 2 years and she worked to keep us all together. She had a hard life on reflection. As kids we were 'normal' we fought, we argued, we ratted on each other, we protected each other and heaven help anyone who hurt any of us!
As adults we are not so close - the twins live and work out of state and I have contact with them, I only have contact with one elder sister and the rest I am not in contact with at all for the past 20 years.
DH has one elder sister who lives interstate and we have regular contact.
We have two children - a son who lives overseas and a daughter who lives nearby to us. DS and DD have regular contact and her three children Skype often so they have relationship with their uncle.
We we have a great circle of friends that are long standing (40+ years) so I have my own family that has given me the love, friendship and support I have needed or wanted over the years. I have certainly been blessed.
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Post by KelleeM on Nov 15, 2018 11:27:44 GMT
I’m the sixth of seven, 4 brothers and 2 sisters. I’m close to my oldest sister (8 years older) and we enjoy spending time together (leaving today for a long weekend away). Our husbands get along great too. One sister totally cut herself off from the family, one brother is an idiot but I get along to keep the peace and probably won’t see him again after my Dad passes. Three brothers I get along with but really don’t have much of a relationship with. Two of them I hardly know really.
I have two kids, one of each who are 4 1/2 years apart and have always gotten along really well and still do as adults (28 and 24).
Dh is the oldest of seven. He has a good relationship with all of his siblings and is especially close to his youngest brother (15 years younger, same age as me) and we really enjoy spending time with him and his wife.
I have 3 stepsons who were adults (35-40) when I met dh. They all get along but aren’t especially close.
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tduby1
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,979
Jun 27, 2014 18:32:45 GMT
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Post by tduby1 on Nov 15, 2018 11:54:12 GMT
13 sibling and while we squabble we all get along good. We have one sister who is a little more distant but no ill feelings.
And even when we are irritated with each other we got each other’s backs. Even the more distant sister will not tolerate anyone bad mouthing any of us. In fact she might be the most rabid in defending the other siblings.
Same with our parents. Sometimes they irritate all of us at different times but we are all super protective of mom and dad.
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maryannscraps
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,731
Aug 28, 2017 12:51:28 GMT
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Post by maryannscraps on Nov 15, 2018 11:58:47 GMT
DH was watching a football game last weekend, and the announcers said that one of the players was one of 22 children!!!! I wasn't paying attention, so I don't know which game or which player. I was wondering if they all had the same mother.
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Post by myboysnme on Nov 15, 2018 12:00:25 GMT
I am the oldest of 4 plus 3 half siblings with my dad so one of 7. I do not speak to 2 of my sisters. 2 of them we only occasionally message each other on facebook. One lives with my mom so I see him more frequently. The last one calls maybe once a year. I pass by his house when I go see my mom but we never visit each other.
So, no, I am not what I would call close to any of my siblings.
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Post by workingclassdog on Nov 15, 2018 13:03:00 GMT
Nope one sister and we get along great.
Do have some steps but we didn’t grow up together not really spent anytime together. We “get” along and we all like each other’s “step” parent. We just all live so far apart from each other it’s not really a priority to visit. I don’t know if I could hang around them though as I hear they are very racial.
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