Recap of Living Out Loud volume 18: My brother's keeper

I'm woefully behind. We had house guests this weekend, which was lovely but left little time for writing by Sunday evening. And then yesterday I was all ready to compile our entries but work kicked my ass and then this head cold finished me off at 8pm when the boy and I both went to bed at the same time. Oh, and I have a squirmy baby that rarely naps and doesn't go to bed much before we do. But enough excuses, let's check out our entries!

Kimz' The only only child I'm always fascinated how some single children can grow up as "micro-adults" because they interact with so many adults. And one of my co-workers talks about the challenges of parenting siblings when you've never had to yourself (he and his wife are only children).

Ruth's He ain't heavy Love the squinty photo! Having the shared memories but from other perspectives is a rare treat.

Megan's Big brother I had two older brothers and I don't remember a lot of hair-ruffling. I have always wondered what it would be like to have a sister. :) I look forward to hearing how my kids feel about each other once they're adults (and more than one of them).

Peg's Family Matters Wow, you really were the middle child and then some.

SuziCate's I Am My Own Keeper Six kids over 12 years is a lot. I have a hard enough time relating with just my two brothers let alone all those others. Everyone's perspective is very different even on the same events.

Rachel's The little sister There are lots of things I didn't have to endure as the youngest baby. Part of that was being a girl and part of that was loosening standards by that time. :) But there's a chance to change that behavior as adults. We just have to work on it.

And my own Siblings

As I said earlier, I've been behind. I haven't reminded folks about the LOL deadlines and I'm barely able to get a topic out "on time" (with some leeway given to the on time part). But you all rallied for me. And then when I sit down to read the entries, I'm still just so pleased at the thought you put into them. It makes me proud.

This month I choose Rachel as our winner. Maybe it's because I feel some commiseration about that whole youngest child thing. But her entry struck me as the definition of writing something you wouldn't normally have for the world to see. Thank you so much for sharing!

Rachel will receive a $25 Amazon gift card as her prize but all participants earn my unending appreciation for your writing. I have picked a theme for this month but just have to figure out how to explain it, so hopefully I can do that this week.