Finally!!!! Justification of what I've known all along!

[bobzrag]

Originally Posted by drclark

...However, being a boy, I seemed to get a little bit more leniency during my teenage years than my sister did. I think that parents tend to be a bit more overprotective of their daughters than sons.... so being the oldest girl and having a younger brother must really be the pits.
drc

Very true - when you ask my daughter (who is my oldest at 11) at what age she can start dating, her response is always "42 daddy"

[Dusty]

... there were many times but the scariest for me was... Jim making Tom so mad he went after Jim and Paul with a butcher knife...seems to be a pattern here. The best I could do was yell to Paul and Jim to run faster and dont come home for a while, hoping he would not turn on me. No wonder Tom likes living by himself.

Not only are mom and dad 350 miles away but 4 hours from the closest airport, no buses or trains and now gas is $4 a gal. However the shuttle for rock creek is awesome...worth it.

ahhhh the memories

Originally Posted by Red Ryder

Yeah, but I think you had a tough spot in the line up. You're the one that protected Jim from the rest of the neighborhood. I remember one day I came out to the front yard to see Jim being chased by some other kids. No telling what he did to them, but you stepped out in front of the kids as Jim ran by and threatened to take them on. Saving his butt again. I'm sure you have lots of other times I don't even know about.

Of course I saved him a time or two. Again, I don't know what Jim did, but Tom at about 4 years old was chasing him with a hammer. I grabbed Tom by the waist and carried him in the house, saving Jim again.

No wonder Mom and Dad moved 350 miles away!

but I bet you didn't have a brother named Jim

Originally Posted by DownHillPhil

Being the middle child, I have slipped by pretty much unnoticed...my kid brother has it harder than I do and so does my older brother.

I think they were too nice to my older brother though. He has not grown up one bit in the last 5 years. He is 23 and still does all the stupid immature things he used to do. My parents threaten punishments but rarely deliver on it.

I think that one of the most important things is to deliver on your promises and also your punishments as a parent. The kids have to know that they can take what you say at face value.

[RustyIron]

Be glad you didn't turn out like your brother, and hope he grows up into a man before he hurts someone.

[Dusty]

Actually he turned out to be a very responsible adult once he cleaned up his life. He had a house and wife and 3 kids. He loved the mountains and the great outdoors, unfortunately we lost him to colon cancer 4 years ago. He was an amazing surfer and just started mtn biking before he died. We have lots of stories and great memories and I am thankful for his love of adventure.

Originally Posted by RustyIron

Be glad you didn't turn out like your brother, and hope he grows up into a man before he hurts someone.

[BobBurnes]

Originally Posted by sdyeti

That is why it's so hard for me to be accept that so many of my students think mediocrity (at academics or life in general) is okay.

A problem I have with the young Airmen I work with. I wish I could shake it into them. Maybe I can......hmmmm

[mscalepic]

I understand that you feel you turned out to be more responsible than your brother did by his current actions. I'm a middle child and I was the oldest girl of six. I was also the favored child in my family by my father. I do think the oldest child turns out to be more responsible than most because they have to take care of the younger ones and be a good example to the rest of the kids. I just lost my oldest brother and he will be missed by me for the rest of my life. I have two boys and I'm sure I expect more from my oldest than the younger one because of there age difference but I think that I will expect both of them to be civically and personally responsible for all of their actions. I hope the best for your brother and I'm sure you are a great example to him and hopefully he will learn from his mistakes and make better choices in the future.

[Dusty]

I lost my brother 4 years ago, it helps to remember the things they did that make you laugh, my condolences

Originally Posted by mscalepic

I understand that you feel you turned out to be more responsible than your brother did by his current actions. I'm a middle child and I was the oldest girl of six. I was also the favored child in my family by my father. I do think the oldest child turns out to be more responsible than most because they have to take care of the younger ones and be a good example to the rest of the kids. I just lost my oldest brother and he will be missed by me for the rest of my life. I have two boys and I'm sure I expect more from my oldest than the younger one because of there age difference but I think that I will expect both of them to be civically and personally responsible for all of their actions. I hope the best for your brother and I'm sure you are a great example to him and hopefully he will learn from his mistakes and make better choices in the future.

[Red Ryder]

One of Dusty's other brothers here...

All of us kids growing up loved being on the edge, doing things most wouldn't do. Our brother who passed away, took this to a new level right from the day he was born. Before he could walk, he crawled into the shore break at Corona Del Mar on a big south swell. He was getting hammered and really tumbled around, everyone was scared he was going to drown. But the wave thew him, tumbling across the wet sand. Most kids would cry, he came up laughing and wanted to do it again. His guardian angel must have been working overtime for his 42 years, Dusty was backup.

Sdyeti, our brother screwed up plenty. I never thought he was going to pull out of his bad times, but he did. Love, tough love, prayer and I'm not sure what else got him back on track. I'm not sure what to say, but hang in there and expect your brother to do better.

My best memory of our brother was surfing overhead, hollow waves at, of all places, Dogpatch. He took off behind the peak and got tube dropping in. I didn't think he was going to make it. So what's a big brother to do but drop in. (real responsible for the oldest) I got barreled as soon as I stood up. Then I heard Jim yelling, "GO, GO, GO". We were both barreled, flying down the line. It was probably only a second or two, but I looked back at him, he was smiling, for a split second I thought we'd make it out, but the wave sectioned in front of us. We both came up laughing. That was him.

[Fired Yo Momma]

cool story...