The Blessing of Age-Gap Kids
The Blessing of Being an Age-Gap Sister
There’s something really special about age-gap siblings. The oldest often takes a lead role in the lives of the younger ones, and it’s such a cool thing to watch—and to live.
I’m an age-gap kid myself. I’m one of four girls (God bless my parents!). I’m the third, with two older sisters who are ten and twelve years older than me, and a younger sister who’s just seventeen months younger.
When my older sisters were teenagers in high school, I got to tag along on dates (I’m sure they hated it, but they never let it show). I rode to school with them in their cars—not every kindergartener got that experience back then! And I became an aunt at a very young age.
Because they could drive, we got to go to the movies, go out to eat, and later, once they were married, hang out at their houses. As much as I’m sure we annoyed them, they never stopped spending time with us. They always made space for us, and I’ll always be grateful for that.
Thanks to them, I got to see what kind of person I wanted to be when I grew up. Becoming an aunt at age eleven helped shape my dreams early—I knew I wanted to be a teacher.
In our family, I’m the one with the leadership skills. Some say I’m bossy; I say it’s leadership. I owe that confidence to watching my older sisters. They empowered me to have a voice (my parents did too—I can’t leave them out!). When my younger sister and I were going through those tough teenage years, they always listened. They asked our opinions and let us speak honestly and unfiltered. That kind of openness was a gift.
Now, we haven’t always gotten along—I don’t want to make us sound like the girl version of The Brady Bunch. We’ve had plenty of disagreements and arguments. That’s real life. But we watched how our sisters responded to conflict, and in doing so, we learned how we should respond in difficult situations too.
Even now, with all of us grown, raising families of our own—and one already a grandparent—I still get annoyed with them sometimes. I say things without thinking or tease them about random stuff, like their ’80s hair or being short. But no matter what, we know we love each other. And we’ll always be there for each other.
Proverbs 17:17 says, “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.”
Siblings are meant to stand beside us in life’s hardest moments. And I’m so thankful for my big-haired, cat-loving, Morgan Wallen-obsessed sisters!
