Congratulations to Amiel who's album 'Audio Out' debuted at #17 on the ARIA Albums chart this week... onwards and upwards to you, gorgeous!
Big HELLO for the day to discowboy... read his blog.
My family...
An interesting article in The Age this morning discusses the personalities of siblings based on their birth order. It is interesting for me to note, being the youngest of five children, as the article looks at the relationship that exists between the eldest and the youngest. According to the article, "Only children tend to be achievement-oriented, conservative, articulate and confident; middle children tend to be flexible, diplomatic peacemakers; while last-borns, he says, are often persistent and outgoing risk-takers who are charming, creative and who challenge authority." I'm actually surprised at how accurately this tends to describe my family situation (as modest as this makes me sound, acknowledging that I can be charming, creative and an authority rebel...)
The dynamics between myself and my siblings is a rather unusual one in the most usual of ways. There is a seven year gap between myself and my brother, Russell. There is a seventeen year gap between myself and my eldest brother, Colin. In between are my sister, Leanne, and my other brother, Mark. Definitely, it is interesting to note the various generations that exist within one set of siblings.
I always felt a bit like an only child in many aspects. Many of my siblings had moved out during my youth, although this was something I didn't complain about. Like many siblings, the fighting that occured between Russell and myself was often frustrating, and I have more memories of his pranks and cruelties than anything else... although I will admit that he did tend to tip generously for getting me to run across to the shop and get him milkshakes (Blue Heaven) and other assorted snacks. Certainly, this kind of relationship wasn't an uncommon one, and like many siblings, our relationships have only become something more substantial and non-violent in our adult years.
I get along exceedingly well with my sister Leanne. As a child, I think I was always closest to her as well. I do have many fond memories of my childhood with her, from spending time with her and her friends listening to music through to her terrifying me by removing her lemon peel face mask and pretending it was a layer of freshly peeled skin. When she married my brother-in-law, Sid, I must've felt in many ways like I was losing a sister. Interestingly, the business man side of me came out at their wedding when I raced around collecting the little heart tokens that appeared on the bottles of alcohol at the reception, and then went around to the same tables moments later selling them back to them. Apparently I made a tidy little profit that night. Yay me!
If I thought the relationship that Russell and I had was volatile, we shouldn't even begin to examine Sid and myself. Actually, that's a lie... cause as a kid, he would often 'push my buttons' in many aspects. I would love the 'play' aspect, especially hiding on each other and springing out of nowhere to scare the living crap out of each other. There was one instance where, in a display home, he thought he saw me going into a built in wardrobe and quickly sneaked up behind me to trap me in. Screaming, protesting and banging on the wardrobe door followed, as Sid laughed viciously... until I walked up behind him and asked him what he was doing. Turns out that it wasn't me after all, and the poor shaken kid was set free from the wardrobe, racing off to find his parents. I can remember, on more than one occasion, hiding in the shower and waiting for Sid to come in to wash his hands after being in the bathroom, jumping out and scaring the crap out of him... ahhh, good memories. He also had the habit of saying that "Children should be seen and not heard", which i'm sure now he knew absolutely annoyed the living crap out of me. I tend to agree with him now on that sentiment though. Infact, i'd prefer they weren't even seen...
Colin, the eldest, married Deborah. I've always found Deborah charming, funny, and rather sophisticated. She has an intelligence about her that meant conversation was always whitty and smart. My fondest memories of Colin and Deb are actually fairly numerous... the time that they went to a fancy dress party as giant rabbits (Colin had to stop off at a fruit and veg store in full outfit to buy some carrots as well, which would've been amusing to see)... Deb's performance at the Gang Show... and Colin sitting me down to read my a rather twisted rendition of the Last Supper, basically revolving around the concept of Jesus and the fish and chip shop.... trying to explain this certainly won't do it justice so i'm not going to bother, other than to say that Colin and I seem to share a similar warped sense of humour.
Infact, in many ways, Colin and I are bookend brothers. Apart from the obvious fact that he is the oldest and i'm the youngest, we seem to share many similar ideals. We seem to have a similar sense of humour... we definitely seem to share a similar work ethic... yet in a more than ironic twist, out of all my siblings, I feel like I tend to know Colin the least. This is through no fault of neither - just circumstances really. He works a great deal, and obviously wants to spend time with his family whenever he can. I get to see Colin and Deb generally around Christmas time each year, but try to keep them 'in the loop' with what is going on in my life as much as possible.
There was one instance not long ago where all of us actually managed to get together on the same day, and it struck me that, now that we've all grown, and have our own lifes, careers and families, and based on how diverse we all are, how remarkable it is that we all seem to get along fantastically well. I know this is to be expected, but often I see families who just don't get along at all, and I think mum and dad must be pleased that they've raised five individuals who still care about each other and try their best to often keep in touch. I'm certainly not suggesting that we speak to each other weekly, but what is important is the quality of time when we get together.
The older I get, the more I realise and appreciate the importance of knowing your siblings. We may have fought, like any siblings do, as children and teenagers, but I've come to appreciate them now as individuals as I get older. Certainly, I appreciate the respect and support that they constantly show me, and many key moments in my life have been complimented by the well wishes and support of them. As schmultzy as it may sound, ultimately, I guess it isn't important how often I see them, just as long as we make each moment we do spend together count.
