There are 6 children in the hk sibling clan. Rather, there are now 6 adults who lead very different lives and try as hard as they might to keep in touch - in the hk sibling clan.
Six adults who grew up in a whirlwind of calm versus chaos and each and every one came to rest with only a few battle scars. Some of course bear far worse ones than the rest as is usually the case in most families.
We are not that different than every other person walking around with a family. It can be assumed that most persons have those family issues that they would rather not come to light.
If not, for lord's sake, do not hang your head in dismay. Oh to not have dysfunction. That's a beautiful thing. Then again, so is the slight dysfunction that affects most of us, if only for the sharp reminders that we are here. We are alive and feeling and in the midst and crux of it all.
Two of the Six are my natural sisters. Two of the Six are step-sisters and One of the Six is my step-brother. We do not apply this terminology into our family unless explaining to others our family dynamic, as in right now. They, we, went through it all together and while there isn't much said to one another these days....if someone needs something, we are there to the best of our abilities.
My brother's birthday came and past and I spoke to him briefly - wishing him and his family well. I like to think he made it out of Iraq unscathed due to not only his intellect and troop support/team work but also - he survived Five females growing up. Five women who tormented him to no end. This is a brave guy because we were, without a doubt, ruthless.
My older sister, she and her family have settled into their new digs after a year of being uprooted due to Hurricane Katrina. A capable, nurturing mother and a woman who has dealt with her demons and tribulations with courage and smarts.
My youngest sister, she busily carries on her life in advertising, all the while we wait until the day she rules the world. Her intellect is only outmatched by her inner/outer beauty and sense of humor. To which at that last statement she would probably make a long ape face and mimic it with heartfelt sarcasm.
The middle two - the naturals - well, I've known them since pre-birth and they surprise me still to this day.
The older of the Two, she bears her wounds and most of ours as well. I worry and fret over her - for her. It is possible for someone to make your heartbreak and pull your hair out all in one second. Beautiful, flighty, hard-working and broken.
The younger of the Two, she bears scars similar to mine. One of the more beautiful of the group, she travels and moves on and settles down and she is O.K. She will always be O.k. because like me, there's a certain level of fight for survival in her. We are trying now to hand some of that fight over to the Older of the Two.
These are the hk siblings in short, sweet, tense phrases that do no justice to the beauty that is the group.
We have all fought to get settled in our own little niche of the world and will continue to do so. Why? Uprooted, our sense of self taken at times, our lives turned upside down with only the Six of Us to fall back on each other.
I do not think persons every really get over that do they?
Should you?
I love them deeply, truly.
The Six
