Peacemaker?

On Sunday, I had an interesting conversation with two of my friends concerning how our placement in our family forms who we are. Both Sarah and Jen said they were the middle child of five kids and I am the middle child of three. We all found that in this position as the middle child we fell into the role of peacemaker, which I found to be true. I am not a big fan of conflict and found that I do always try to smooth over situations. I do fit this role as peacemaker as did both Sarah and Jen. It is weird how our placement in our family reflects part of us.

Today, I had this same conversation with John. He agreed that he thought this was true, but he had a different role as he is the second of six siblings. Instead, we talked more about the role of the oldest sibling. He said the oldest always got the high praise and excelled at everything they did. I found this true. My brother is one of the smartest people I know. He deserves everything he has worked for and I am so proud of him, especially because of the the other things he did and continues to do as my older brother. He always was this great protector. He always looked out for Renee and I in some tough situations we were faced with growing up. He did not have to do this, but he did. I do not even know if I ever told him thank you, but I am. He is this great man as I am sure his wife would agree. He always gives it to me straight and tells me when I am overreacting. I love him very much.

After giving props to Nathan, now I have to praise my wonderful sister Renee. She is my best friend and one of the smartest people I know. She can read greek and latin. We have the best conversations about greek tragedies especially in an attempt to locate a story about a sister falling in love with their brother. It is an inside family joke, but we cannot name this greek tragedy. We find it funny. It is a long story. She is my best friend as I tell her everything and she can read me like a book. There are some days when she knows me better than I know myself. I could not ask for a better sister or for better siblings. I love them both very much. Also, I am glad for my sister-in-law, Laurel. She is a wonderful wife and mother and one of the most creative people I know. I am so excited that she finally has a house to put her own stamp on. I love playing Settlers of Catan with Nathan and Laurel because they get so competitive with each other. I think that is half the fun of playing it with them.

On a side note, I tried playing Rock Band today and I am addicted. John's roommate just bought it and we were playing it this morning. He was on the drums and I was playing horribly on the guitar. I had to force myself to stop or I would still be there playing instead of working on a paper for school. I have an incredible boyfriend. There will be more to come on that, including a picture which I am sure my mom is circulating to everyone.