Homeward Bound

I have had occasion to think a lot about the nature of siblings lately; my friends', my own, my childrens'. Why do some seem so close and others seem to never outgrow infantile rivalry? Why are some relationships so unbalanced, with one sibling forever doing favors and the other sibling only taking and unwilling to give? Why do some grow apart, distant and uncaring? All relationships take effort. At the end of the day and at the end of our lives, we only have our families. We'd like to think our parents will always be there, but it's clear that they won't. At some point along the way, we will have to work with that brother or sister to take care of our parents. It's a job that's frequently far too difficult to do alone. We may also need that brother or sister ourselves to stand up for us at a wedding, to be a Godparent to a child, to hold our hand in a crisis and to stand in our stead in our absence. In the end there is nothing like family. Modern society has shown us that marriages may end. Nothing changes the brother/ sister relationship, maddening or loving, this the only person on the planet who remembers your family more or less the way you do. You share history and biology and home.