In Her Words: 15, Quadruplet & Only Sister {What it’s Like}

Anneliese: computer collage self portrait

GUEST BLOG BY MY SWEET DAUGHTER, ANNELIESE (Anna): budding author, gifted artist, novice pole vaulter, comic creator, and beautiful friend!

All my life I’ve been barraged with questions. For example: as a baby I’d bawl for an unseemly amount of time until my mom or dad would croon, “Oh, are you hungry?” or “Does baby need her diaper changed?” As I moved onto elementary school I’d be asked by my little peers, “Do you want to play house with us?” and “Can I borrow your pink crayon?” And as I grew up and was thrust into middle and high school, “Can you draw me a [fill in the blank]?” or “Did you get your homework done?” You get the point; because I have kith and kin that  practice the art of speech, I’ve been asked many questions in my life, but none more frequently or more difficult to answer than the following: “What is it like being the only girl amongst three brothers?” It seems like a simple enough question to answer, but because I’m not particularly eloquent, I find it easier to write it for you than say it – so we can put this dogged question to rest! Now prepare your brain, friend, to be engulfed by my words! I’ll warn you that I’m quite verbose, so you seriously need to be prepared for some large words and unwieldy long paragraphs. With that disclaimer, let’s let my memoir unfold as I answer my most FAQ!

Let me begin with how I differ from my brothers. First of all, in the four days of the week in which I have an early math class, I wake up at 5:00 AM.  Yes, that’s a teenager waking up at 5:00 – shocka! With that revelation, let me continue. As soon as I drag myself out of bed, I make coffee and grab my Bible and the novel I am currently burrowed in. Two differences between my brothers and I, in this second paragraph: first of all, I drink coffee with a vengeance (a spoonful of creamer and milk, every time, twice a day), as well as the fact that I go out of my way to read; my bros read their Bible, but they don’t really take time to read anything else, whereas I polish off a novel a month, at least (this morning I just finished Ginger Garrett’s Chosen, and the last month I read the first two novels in J. R. R Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings). The only time they delve into novels is when it’s required for English class. Anyway, while I’m curled up on the couch in the wee hours of the morning reading a book with my dog, at around 6:00 is when my first brother gets up, usually Mark or Matthew because Andrew sleeps in, lurching their tired way into the shower. They always shower in the morning, and I at night – that is another difference. If I were to shower in the morning, I’d be so OCD that I’d get up at four to accomplish this task before I commence with the rest of my morning ritual.

My brothers are much less uptight, as you can probably infer. We have many differences, but those simple ones are probably the only ones you have time for – so I will continue to talk about what they’re like as friends! You might expect us to be the sort of siblings who constantly banter and fight and spend good portions of the day hating each other’s guts, but it’s quite the contrary. The only time they get on my nerves is when they are being obnoxious, and that usually isn’t even on purpose, but other than that they are as sweet and courteous as anyone. The only time I irritate them is when I am being overly motherly or OCD-ish, scolding them on their environmental hygiene when I see the mess they’ve left their room or bathroom in. But there is no enmity between us; whenever a conflict is serious, either I’m just PMS-ing or something said was misunderstood.  In the foremost case, when I am PMS-ing and ragging on every little thing, they just shrug inwardly and think to themselves, “Well, that’s Anna for you – I’ll just let her burn herself out.”

In short, my dear brothers are the Sokka to my Katara, an analogy for you people who have seen Avatar: the Last Airbender! Now I’ll tell you of how I think I am affected by the lack of estrogen amongst me and my siblings. For starters, I’m quite the gamer – I contend against them in board games, fight alongside them in video games, and cheer and groan with them during football games. I am a gamer. And when I was little I’d abandon my Barbie-dolls to play soldier and dinosaurs with them! Which is ironic, because when dad saw that I was not using my girly toys, he bought me some nifty action figures for Christmas, and upon opening the present I began to cry, upset that “Daddy got my a boy toy!” But that is neither here nor there, that little account. So let me just conclude this paragraph in saying that I am mildly tomboyish thanks to the three testosterone-laden boys I shared the womb with.

This is one of Anneliese's latest creations depicting 2 characters from her third novel project titled Remnants. (My girl loves her dragons!) I think this one could get published, I couldn't put it down and cannot wait to see how it ends! I am her greatest fan, as it should be.

Now let us speak of how much I love those testosterone-laden boys, in all their stinky, un-talkative boyishness! =D

Picture this: I am sitting at the lunch table with my lovely group of friends in the commons in our usual spot on, enjoying their company and my lunch. My eyes catch something in the distance through the window: it’s a bird – it’s a plane – no, it’s my brothers! They’re coming into the commons from the cafeteria, and, excited to meet them, I jump up from my table and exclaim, “It’s my brothers! ” My table-mates smile, amused by this constant spectacle of my enthusiasm. And it is constant indeed – every time I see my brothers I reel in this manner, and jump to meet them! Before my brothers reach the door, I, rather ninja-like, jump past all barriers in my way to get to them and ask them about their day. My brothers, usually laughing and by this sight as well, smile and reply in kind, always somewhat baffled by my puppyish vehemence. As I am baffled that puppyish is a word, when, after typing it I expected a red zigzag line to flare up beneath it. Ahem – anyway, thus is how I greet them at lunch. =]

That is what it is like to be the only girl amongst boys, if you can picture it. Despite our differences and so forth I love them with all my heart and cannot wait to watch them all get married off some day (not that they or my family would allow me get married any time soon, haha). When I look at them I see nothing less than close, lifelong friends that I never want to move more than a hundred miles away from me (not unlike a doting mother)! So there it is, all laid out for you, the answer of my FAQ! Love, Anna!