Youngest of a very large family

[Irishmom2]

I’m not the youngest but I’m in the younger “group” of my family. I’m not really in the middle either–there’s 16 of us. I understand what you mean about struggling with losing siblings and watching their decline. I find it harder than losing my dad and seeing mom’s health decline. We are extremely close and even though seperated by long distance we talk often (daily with some!) and enjoy visiting as often as possible. We even get along with each other’s spouses. I’ve noticed most people don’t understand what it’s like growing up like this and remaining close into adulthood seems not to happen in most families.

I am so jealous of you with big families! My mom’s family had 6 kids, my dad’s too. My mom’s (Italian) side saw each other with their families at my grandmother’s house. Always someone visiting or relaying news. My dad’s (Irish) side were mostly older when I was a kid, and he was the only one that had any kids. Just 3, of which I am the youngest.

I have found that life changes a lot once your parents have died. They were kind of the glue that kept everyone coming around and staying together. I miss those days. So I am jealous of people that have tons of family around.

Now it’s just the three of us in 3 different states. And I agree with you bitterhope, it is hard to think about my oldest sister getting older, or one day not being here anymore. Maybe that’s because it makes us think about our own mortality, or maybe because we wonder if our own family will remain close once we are gone.