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Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Things About Being an Only Child

I know it's Valentine's Day, but the wife and I sort of celebrated that last week. See previous post about our trip to Las Vegas. A few weeks ago, I had nothing for T13 so I shared thirteen facts about myself. One of those facts being that I am an only child. That's right, no brothers, no sisters, just me. I know, some of you are saying to yourselves, "that explains everything."
So this week, I thought I would share some of the unique qualities that I believe many of us who are the only child have in common. Life is different when you grow up without siblings. If something is broken, guess who did it? If there is a mess, guess who made it? There was no one to blame but us. Well, not exactly, there were two brothers across the street and two more down the street that I could always push some of the blame off on...and their brother would take my side of the story. Enough background, here is my thirteen unique qualities of an only child.

1. We've always had our own room. That's not our fault, talk to our parents about that only child thing.

2. We are quite capable of entertaining ourselves and often prefer it to crowds.

3. We're an independent sort. We are used to traveling our own path in this world.

4. We are loyal. We don't have much family, so we value the friends that we have.

5. We know what we want. We didn't have older brothers and sisters telling us what we should want or settle for.

6. We tend to explore things that interest us. We may wander from the crowd at the mall because we found something in a store window that we would like to know more about.

7. We can keep a secret. We've never had anyone to share secrets with before, so why should we start now?

8. We probably have a different sense of humor than those with siblings.

9. It's not that we don't like to share, we've just never had to. That's not our fault, talk to our parents about that only child thing.

10. We are quite capable of managing for ourselves. It's that independent thing again. We are very good spouses, but if the single life suits us, we are very good at being single. I was 27 before I married Mrs. Driller, and I wasn't looking for a spouse when I met her. That was 34 years ago and I don't regret a minute that we have been together.

11. We are usually pretty good communicators. This post may prove me to be the exception to that rule. But, think about it... we never had brothers and sisters to communicate our needs for us. If we don't speak for ourselves, no one else will.

12. We are generally good friends to the opposite sex. I've never had a sister, but I had several friends in high school that were female and not involved in a relationship.

13. We can be a little moody, but stick around, we'll get over it.

Extra Credit;
14. We like pets. "I don't know mom, I guess the dog did it."

Ok, that's it for me. If you're an only child, you can probably relate to this list. If you know an only child, what traits have you seen them express?

14 comments:

Di said...

One with siblings can never imagine life without and one without siblings can never imagine life with. We are all unique...and whether or not one has siblings is just another facet.

Sandee said...

My sister is my best friend, my brother another story, I could have done without both of them until I was grown. We fought like the dickens. It's a wonder the parents kept any of us. Very well done. Have a great TT and Valentine's Day. :)

Mama Kelly said...

Being an only child I had to chuckle as I read your list. I only wish I had thought to blame the dog more often.

mama kelly
2witchesblog.wordpress.com

Nicole Austin said...

I have two older brothers and could do without one, but not the other. I didn't blame the dog, I always blamed the evil brother. LOL! Happy TT!

www.nicoleaustin.net

damozel said...

The only only child I know is my mom. But---as she is the first to say---she was a spoiled little princess. She doesn't really fit this profile, but I can see how for other kids it would be that way.

I used to PRETEND I was an only child sometimes...but now that I'm fifty, I quite like the little toadstools and am glad my parents had them (I'm the oldest).

Landscapes & Cityscapes

Dane Bramage said...

Oldest of four so I cannot relate. All the sibs had at least two kids. I wonder if there is some correlation there.

Thanks for visiting my Thursday Thirteen #67 13 (Not So) Romantic Tips

Lazy Daisy said...

What a treasure you are...love your sense of humor. I enjoyed your list very much as well as the view point of being an only child. It explained several things to me. Thanks for the perspective.

Ramblins of a middle-aged goddess said...

VEry good list...You know you don't see a whole lot of men out in blogland much so nice to see one!!
Hope that you treated your wife to something...at least a card!!
Thanks for stopping by. I love having new visitors. Stop back anytime. Sandy

Vixen of Vixensden.com said...

Now I have learned quite a bit about only children. I love the bonus one...the dog did it.

Have a great day.

Forgetfulone said...

My mom's an only child, and my nephew is an only child. I see them in this. It was also nice to read something today that wasn't about Valentine's day!

storyteller said...

My best friend is an only child who married and only child and had one child. I'm youngest of 3. We often talk about the differences in our life experiences. Your list seems most familiar.
Hugs and blessings,

DoubleDeckerBusGuy said...

I'm a youngest child so I can related... by the age of twelve, I was the last kid in the home... and yup, blamed the dog for a LOT of things.

Travis Cody said...

I was an only for the first four years and eight months of my life, and then my sister came along and I've always been glad she was there.

Malcolm said...

Although I come from a family of 8 siblings, I share a lot of the traits that you mentioned. All except for the one about pets.