Siblings - share a memory that makes you smile!

[frances_is_a_sibling]

Hi everyone,

It was great to have a chat with @Alexg and @chissylou last month about ‘What’s the best thing and the hardest thing about being a sibling?’. See this thread if you’d like to join in - conversations are always open and you’re always welcome to say hello Siblings - what’s the best thing and the hardest thing?

I thought I’d start another sibling topic this month… I’d love to hear about a memory of your brother or sister that makes you smile

Here’s mine:

My brother loves music. When we were children, sometimes we’d put his favourite music on (really loud! Just how he liked it!) and me, and my sister and him would sing along, make some noise and dance around the living room.

To someone who is outside of learning disability, this might sound like a fairly ordinary family moment. And it was! But also, for me, it was quite significant. Because my brother doesn’t ‘put on’ a smile. He doesn’t smile on demand for a photo, he doesn’t sing and dance if he’s not happy. And we had a lot of really hard times as a family too. So every moment of joy - was a genuine one.

I’m going to tag a few siblings here who I’ve seen in previous chats (see the ‘Finding Siblings!’ thread for a lovely opportunity to wave hello) - @bmuggers @Alans_sis @mollymay @Beautifulsister @Liz @Isonor @jaye95 @stephpear123 and everyone is welcome to chip in.

Thank you for joining me and thank you for sharing your memories

[chissylou]

That’s lovely and I know exactly what you mean. I had a sing song with my brother recently for the first time and it was so special as I usually can’t hold his attention. As for my memories, wow, so many things, my brother is hilarious. A recent random one for you. The time when he fell in love with a giant inflatable whale at a seaside festival and was standing in front of it for ages, leaning his head on its head and then patting it. Wish I could share pics as they are much funnier than I am making it sound. He is just so in his own world with his own rules and it is freeing being around him. x

[Liz]

Hi

Thanks for flagging this one for me. So many memories but the one that jumped immediately to mind was something that happened whenever my brother was poorly. Despite the epilepsy, meds, LD etc, he’s rarely been down with the flu or such like but we always knew when was properly feverish. He would jump around the house with his hands on his head singing “I’m a funny bunny!” His hands would be waving around like rabbit ears and we’d know to immediately fetch the thermometer!

Another that will go down in history in my memory, and some of my friends, is a summer birthday party when I was about 13/14 (he’s 4 years older). We were all in the garden and he managed to get around to the hose, turn it on, and came running after us all cackling with laughter! Cheeky bugger. I smile because that was such a “big brother” thing to do

He hasn’t had the best few years in terms of care homes and interaction with people but he’s in a better set up now and I’m seeing some of that cheekiness come back. I’m on their case a lot with things that need improvement but I did tell them about this as a positive. I’m also getting some fantastic hugs again now at the end of a visit which do far more for me than my Prozac!

Sending love and hugs to other siblings out there.

xx

[frances_is_a_sibling]

@chissylou ah that’s so brilliant to hear - wonderful to still have the ‘firsts’, exploring new stuff together, even as adults. Sounds like a sing song is a winner for you both. Ha ha ha, I love the image of your brother just completely taking to this whale. I know what you mean about being around him being freeing - it sounds like he lives by his own internal rhythm and actually many more of us would benefit from listening to our own a bit more!!

@Liz You’re welcome, thanks for sharing such lovely memories. Ha ha, oh what a great way to tell you he wasn’t feeling well - something so unique to that situation, you instantly knew what was wrong. I bet that raised a smile around the house. It sounds like your brother has such a warm fun streak. I’m so sorry to hear that’s become a bit hidden in the past few years…glad to hear that it’s slowly creeping back in. And that you’re getting some warmth and hugs too (I agree - that’s way better than any meds!). Let us know how it goes - keep in touch and post back with new moments and stories of the cheeky-streak coming back, it’s good to hear about it

[SarahL]

Hello @Liz

I have just been reading your lovely post about your brother. It would be great if you had any new updates to share with other siblings on here.

Many thanks
Sarah

[SarahJane]

Hello All. I’m new to the group and just catching up with some of the posts. As it’s Christmas I thought I would share my favourite memories of my brother Jamie.

I loved Christmas because it meant Jamie would stay at home overnight. The old ‘Z’ bed would come down from the loft and made up ready for me to sleep in. Neither of us would sleep at all. Every time Jamie got out of bed so would I. Mum and Dad must have been shattered but I loved it. I must have been about 6 and Jamie was 12 when he started coming home for Christmas.

He spent most of his life in a ‘hospital’ until moving in to a Mencap house at about 26. He is now 57… and we both still love Christmas… up to a point
Sarah

[frances_is_a_sibling]

Hi @SarahJane welcome to the family hub your christmas memories made me smile - it sounds like you and Jamie had fun together.

[SarahJane]

Hi Frances. We certainly did and thankfully still do as we spend every Sunday together (as we have done since Jamie left home aged 9) and we have one or two holidays together each year. It’s not easy sometimes but the good times far outweigh the bad.

Happy Christmas to you all!

[frances_is_a_sibling]

@SarahJane, that’s so lovely to hear how close you are I look forward to hearing more about your adventures, Christmassy and the everyday ones too! Merry Christmas to you both too.