It was a good thing, right?
My 17-year-old self had tried for so long to be like him,
That older brother, thirteen years smarter and wiser,
That sibling held so high in esteem by the parent
I could never please, no matter how hard I tried,
The ideal cited in the frequent exhortation,
“Why can’t you be more like your brother?”
So if my brother said it, it must be good, right?
“You drive like a man.”
It meant I’d finally done something right.
Right?
Then why did it feel so wrong?
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This is my entry in One Shot Wednesday.
Sibling rivalry... how do we survive it?
ReplyDeleteYou go girl!!!
ReplyDeleteNice to have someone to "drive" us
Love ya mon ami
Moonie
Family relationships can be so strange, can't they? Great words.
ReplyDeleteha. so just how do men drive...i was the oldest and the pressure of being the example sucks...but my sis could do no wrong...
ReplyDeleteIt's not all bad! Danica Patrick drives like a man and look at HER! I mean, seriously, LOOK at ...oh, sorry...didn't mean to steer off track but you wrote it just right and made me forget where I am...Good one...always.
ReplyDeletegreat poem! also made me thankful to be an only child..
ReplyDeletesmiles :)
Comparisons they say here are Horrible... Yeah- some wrongness there is... but hey How I like when my dad tells me, ' Girrl,You drive better than a taximan...' ah---i feel so proud of myself... ((sigh))
ReplyDeletegreat One again , dear Patti lady!
Simple yet complex, Patti. I'm only now learning to really pay attention to that feeling that feels wrong, even when the words seem right.
ReplyDeleteHah apparently I drive like a 'lead foot'
ReplyDeleteLove it when we 'talk' to ourselves through poetry--right? Or WRONG??? Good shot!
ReplyDeleteha, drive like a man! I'm a good driver, I think.
ReplyDeleteAnd I am 13 years my sister's elder, what a cooincidence!
xoxo
And congrats on being SIXTH over there at One Shot today. I have to learn what time the gates open over there, I was way way late.
I have a brother 13 years older than me, who is our mother's Golden Boy. So, I get this, except for the idolizing part.
ReplyDeleteHa sibling rivalry. Yes an ever present theme. I really enjoyed how you captured the life of siblings. Thank you for sharing! ~Corbie Sinclair
ReplyDeleteWhy did it feel so wrong? You know, I know, your readers know - because it was praise tainted with chauvinism. Like most, I prefer praises to be unadultered, unfiltered and unabashed.
ReplyDeleteoh, those back-handed compliments are awful and patronizing.
ReplyDeleteTake it as a compliment... I would !
ReplyDeleteJL&B
Especially a boy...for years I wanted to be a boy because in my upbringing...boys were everything...girls were worker bees....so much for the time...no wonder there was a great rebellion...bkm
ReplyDeleteI learned a long time ago - never criticize the driving of another. Invariably, I wind up being wrong.
ReplyDeleteAs long as we get there in one piece, I could care less.
Yes, it's "thanks, I think" to this kind of comment.
ReplyDeletethe envy of siblings compared to one another glares off the page. nice write.
ReplyDeleteWe look up to our elder brother so much, yet that compliment would still feel like it had a tinge of sarcasm to us maybe! A rivalry unlike another!
ReplyDeleteMy Post Is Here
Perhaps I had things easy - my brother was younger than me! LOL But neither of us drive...
ReplyDeleteThe teasing of brother...I know it too well...:)
ReplyDeleteThis is so funny!
ReplyDelete"Drive like a man"...yeah, hard to know how to take that.
ReplyDeleteThank you, everyone. Your visits and comments make my day.
ReplyDeleteFunny, a friend and I were just discussing the issues of sibling rivalry last night at dinner ... and also how some parent fuel it ... Nicely done as always, Patti. Know I will find good reads when I come here. Hooray!
ReplyDeleteUm... because women are better drivers?
ReplyDelete