Who says that the youngest are the most pampered ones? Tell me who is it?? I have a whole lot of points to prove that wrong. yeah! The fact is that the eldest of the whole gang gets the whole attention all the times. I have numerous evidences to prove that. When the first child steps into the world, the whole family, friends, kith and kin, neighbors and simply everyone is so thrilled to bits that they don't leave a single stone unturned to see that million dollars worth smile on the face of the baby! Ok thats fair and agreeable. But... when the poor little second child lands after some years of pampering the elder one and making it feel as if the world is under its feet, it simply refuses to accept any changes! People have so much experience now that they dont care if the second one howls her lungs out. She is just named inhuman and a cry baby. The first one gets the best "first bday", the best "first day in school", "the most tensed and worried year during board exams", "the whole bunch of pattu pavadais and fancy clothes", "all silly stupid toys which cant be generally used for playing since the child is simply overloaded with toys", "the best farewell preparation", "the most emotional see-off for college", "regular letters from the whole family flooding into the hostel" and so on...(tired of rewinding the thoughts...)
The second ones simply get the second hand toys, hurried admission and sudden realization of a school one day, used toys(or say unused toys), and scratches from the first one because the freedom and the whole attention was now scattered into 2 kids and the first one lost the glorious monopoly. The extra years of chocolates, love, attention is all bundled into a sibling rivalry and it takes ages to erase the marks and accord to peace.
Yes, I am a living witness but some time back recently my sister and me talked a lot about it and now we miss each other every day for all the fun, laughter, smiles, tears, hatred, love and the bond of being sisters.When someone who does'nt have a sister asks me now about my elder sister and how it is to have an elder sister, I proudly say that having an elder sister is a joy and I am lucky to have a sister who loves me so much. There are days when she has been nervous about my monthly pains, anxieties and worries, visited temples and perform archana for my marks, laughed on my sick jokes, get excited of our huge earings collection and fought for my problems. I am happy to be the youngest in the house :) And I also accept that she has had her share of sharing her whole life and the love of our parents and family with me which she gracefully accepted(although with difficulty :)). Her share of jealousies and anger....which dont matter any more. There are times when the parents try and 'protect' one from the other. Right or wrong, that does create splinters in the relationship. I know of people who give all the attention to the second child and leave the elder one in the safer hands of the grand parents, with all good intentions. But it turns out to be sour too. Its all luck and I believe strongly that its in our hands to resolve the natural rivalry. After all this useless 'Gyaan', I declare that 'My Sister is the Best!!'
I love you Jillu....
I read in one of my friend's blog about her vow to quit nail biting I thought hah! there was a time when I tried and finally had these long nails. Whate made me do that was an article in a Tamil magazine in which I saw the pic of a baby who was born with nails on the head(yes the nails that her mother had been eventually biting while carrying the baby or before). I felt a chill run through my nerves and decided that I will NEVER EVER bite nails.