Fun ideas and tips from the authors of “The Siblings’ Busy Book”

You know it is quite amazing. My mom is one of six children – three  sisters and two brothers – and she’s speaking to all of them. In fact, there was never a time that any of them were so mad, frustrated, betrayed by one another not to speak. The mere mention of such drama had them all looking at me like I had two heads.

The subject came up after the Thanksgiving feast had been consumed in the basement of Aunt Diane’s home in South Weymouth. As usual, the females had gathered around the kitchen table while the male counterparts headed outside for the traditional T-giving football game.

There were 36 family members present this year. All talking.

What was the secret there?

“It just would never occur to us to handle disagreements that way,” said one sister.

“We’re all different but also have a lot in common,” said another.

Could it be that their common family history plays a part in their bond? They were raised by a single parent mom. They didn’t have much but they did have each other. When you get any of them talking about their childhood, there are certain to be fond memories like how they used to  spread baby powder on the long hallway floor and slide across it or how there was always a younger brother or sister tagging along on the older siblings’ dates.

As you may have read in previous blog posts, there is a lot of sadness out there when it comes to enstranged sibling relationships. Give me 10 seconds and I can give you a listing of colleagues, family, friends who are 1)not talking to a sibling, 2) or don’t have much of a relationship to speak of. Sad but it’s a reality.

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