I only have one sibling - a younger sister who recently celebrated something of a milestone birthday. She lives on the continent and in the past we never gave it that much thought because it's not as though she was living in Australia. But then of course the pandemic occurred and the distance felt a lot greater than what it really was, and my parents and I didn't get to see her (or each other for that matter even though we're all still in the same country!) for what seemed like an eternity. It's great that we all recently got to catch up.
My sister and I have always been close and I consider her to be my best friend (hopefully she regards me as the same!)
And what about everyone here? Are you all very close to your siblings? How did you all cope not being able to see each other for such a long time?
I think I'm the only one here who's an only child! I don't think my parents ever planned it to be just me but that's the way it happened. As a child, I always wanted at least one brother or sister. But my parents always made me feel very loved and I never wanted for anything, and I don't just mean in a material sense. They always made sure I was very sociable, doing activities, joining groups and making lots of friends so that I never felt alone and I think that's been a big help as I didn't go through life always pining for a sibling. I know some people have brilliant relationships with their siblings, and then there are those who don't so I know it can go either way. But that said, I'm glad that I have two kids which means that each of my children has a sibling. As for me, well I married a man who has siblings and they're now the closest that I have to siblings myself - and I couldn't ask for better!