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Lifelong Benefits of Family

feeding the goats at Parlee Farms

I consider the benefits of having siblings as an adult one of the most under-recognized benefits of growing up in a large family – and this week I have certainly reaped the benefits of having so many siblings! Yesterday, for example, my kids enjoyed a day out at Parlee Farms with two of my (five) sisters – the oldest and the youngest. They picked a LOT of blueberries, ate ice cream, fed the sheep and goats, and drove little tractors.

mini nail salon with Aunt K

My youngest sister K is staying for us for the next several weeks!!! I’m enjoying lots of downtime while she teaches Emma how to ride a bike, pitches balls for Johnny to hit, and runs mini nail salons that make my girls feel like princesses.

Best of all, I get to spend lots of time with her, learning more about her life and getting her insights on mine.

Family is amazing, and I hope my four children can be the dear lifelong friends that my siblings are for me!

MaryAnne at Mama Smiles

MaryAnne is a craft loving educator, musician, photographer, and writer who lives in Silicon Valley with her husband Mike and their four children.

22 thoughts on “Lifelong Benefits of Family”

  1. It’s interesting for me to read this post, as I am myself an only child and a mother of “an only”. Lars has one brother, but he is much older, so essentially he is an only too. I wonder sometimes about “what if”, but I am hoping that daughter will not turn into an Octomom when she is an adult and will make her own choices about the size of her family.

    1. There are definitely benefits to all family sizes – and so far Anna seems very good at making her own choices :)

  2. Thank you, M.A.! I hope th same for our children. I love seeing how My husband’s best friends (besides me and our children :) ) are his four brothers and also his three sisters but they all, unforunately live much further away and therefore, contact is less frequent.

    Wihing you all a great time with K!

  3. The greatest gift my parents gave me is siblings!!
    I just spent time in Arizona with all my brothers…and it was a BLAST!!!

  4. Elisa | blissfulE

    Such a sweet post! I also hope that my children will still be good friends when they grow up. A close-knit family is such a blessing.

  5. Ness @ One Perfect Day

    This is a beautiful post MaryAnne. I am struggling right now with R being an only child – I always imagined I’d have 5 children and he’s lonely (he tells me so). Your comment above to Jenny has shed some sunshine on things – R has two cousins that he adores. He doesn’t get to see them too often as we don’t live close by, but I’m going to do what I can to nurture their relationship. R already calls them his sisters! It’s very sweet. By the way, when are you due? It must be getting close is it?

    1. That is very sweet that R has cousins he adores enough to call sisters! I do think cousins can make excellent substitutes for siblings, as can dear family friends. I am very grateful to have been able to have multiple children – it is something I definitely don’t take for granted!

      The baby is due August 2nd – so any day now, really, although my babies tend to show up “late” :)

  6. What a very sweet and endearing post!

    I have one sister, but unfortunately we aren’t that close. We’re just two very different people, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love her! She’s my family :)

  7. Kim @ The Educators Spin On It

    My kids love when my sister comes and all the fun things we get to do together. Siblings truly are a gift. We love having my husbands sister near us in town too. You forget how lucky you really are to have a built in friend there for you always.

  8. This is why when my husband and I first wanted kids, we originally aimed for four (never mind that once my LO was born, I was fine with one! lol). We both come from big families (6 on his, 5 for me) and even both our parents have a ton of siblings (my dad has 11!). Suffice it to say that growing up with a huge family has been all that I’ve known, and I love it. My siblings and I get along so well.

    Sadly I don’t think I will have four kids, although I might aim for two :) I don’t know how our parents did it but I can’t see myself raising a large family, as much as I’d love to.

  9. I am so sad that Abby is an only child. I don’t know why we didn’t think about it before. It’s depressing to think she won’t have any nieces or nephews or a best fried sister to hang out with.

    My sister and I are so close. My whole family is.

    1. I think Abby gets a similar relationship with her cousins – it’s so cute to see the photos of her with them!

  10. I LOVE this post and feel the same way. I only have one sister and I always wanted more siblings, that is why I always wanted to have as many children as God blesses me with!!!

  11. Beautiful post! So glad your sister is with you and you are getting a little bit of a break while waiting for number four’s arrival.

  12. Two Chicks and a Hen

    I love when my kids can spend time with my siblings, and living so far away, it doesn’t happen very often. My brother is coming to visit next month, and my children are going to be thrilled when I tell them.

  13. Family is so important. Your article show us that in such an elegantly simple way. Thanks for the thoughtful share. :)

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