Friday was National Sibling Day. I only know this because my Facebook feed was cluttered with photos of my friends with their brothers and/or sisters.

While I have a half brother and a stepsister, for all intents and purposes, I grew up an only child.

My half brother is about eight years older than I am and we grew up in separate households. We keep in touch minimally on Facebook; were never really close.

My stepsister and I didn’t meet until my mother and her father met; I was in the fifth grade and she was a little younger. While we grew to be good friends, we also lived in separate households. We grew apart once we both graduated high school and started living our own lives.

So as I looked at all the silly or heartfelt photos of my friends with their siblings, I started to feel little sad. But when I was growing up, it never really crossed my mind.

There were a lot of perks to being an only child.

Aside from play dates and slumber parties, I was on my own for entertainment. My dad and I played plenty of board games back then, but let’s face it, he was never really a My Little Pony guy. So I spent a lot of time playing with my Barbies, LEGOs or stuffed animals by myself. I became quite an accomplished stuffed animal veterinarian, by the way.

And while playing alone doesn’t sound like much of a perk to someone who always had a playmate, I learned how not to be bored. I became self-sufficient and independent at an early age. And to this day, I don’t have to rely on anyone to have a good time.

Not only was I an only child, but I was an only grandchild on my father’s side. Thinking back on my Christmases and birthdays makes me feel a little guilty for the children who did have that one over-the-top celebration with junk food and presents galore.

Everyone knows that one stereotypical only child who grew up spoiled rotten and never wanted to share or appreciated anything he or she ever got. Thankfully, my grandmother didn’t let that happen to me. I don’t know how, but by the grace of God, I was natural at sharing and saying “please” and “thank you” were mandatory words.

I’ve actually had people tell me, “You don’t seem like an only child.” I’m not sure what kind of compliment that is, but I assume it means, “Hey, you’re not a self-absorbed jerk. What’s that about?”

It should be noted, only children are not always spoiled and selfish, nor do we seek to be the center of attention.

The older I’ve gotten, my best friends have become like the brothers and sisters I never had. I don’t think I could be any closer with a blood relative than I am with my best friend in the world.

So while I didn’t celebrate National Sibling Day, I don’t feel like I got the short end of the stick. I feel lucky that I was able to spend a lot of one-on-one time with my mom, dad or grandmother when I was younger. And I feel fortunate to have the kind of friends I consider to be like family.

 

Michelle Goodman is the news editor at The Tribune. To reach her, call 740-532-1441 ext. 12 or by email at michelle.goodman@irontontribune.com.