How close are you to your siblings?

[Lifesprettyweird]

I live abroad and see my sister once a year or two and haven’t seen my brother for a few years. When we see each other, we get on but I sometimes feel awkward, it feels sad
Am I the only one?

Not at all close, we grew up in and out of care and were often separated, I think it's taken its toll.

Not close at all. It’s a shame and I wish it wasn’t that way but I’ve made my peace with it.

I see them at family events and that's mostly it. I wouldn't choose to spend time with them alone and they don't spend time with each other either.

My sister is nine years older than me and lives interstate. We chat for an hour or so every couple of weeks and send emails. Wasn't always that frequent.

My brother could be dead for all I know or care. Haven't seen him for over forty years. ETA last time I did was when he broke our mother's jaw in a drunken rage. He can rot.

I saw my sister in February,I doubt I'll see her again this year.

Two siblings.

Very close to my younger brother. Lives on the other side of the world but we see each other 3-4 times a year and talk regularly.

Superficially close to my older brother. We’ve had a lot of issues in our relationship in the past, and whilst we’ve put it behind us, it still feels awkward for me. So we talk regularly, see other once a month and he’s a great uncle to my children. But it feels forced.

Very close. See my brother weekly usually and my sister works away for periods but still see her at least weekly whenever she's home and we all speak in our group chat a few times a week

My sister is two years older and we live 400 miles apart. She's still my best friend though. It wasn't always like this but, thankfully, we've become closer as we get older.

Interesting thread. I don't know many people who see their siblings beyond the obligatory family events and such.

It’s sad though isn’t it? All that time together growing up, I feel I should know them so well, but I really don’t

My sister and I were close as children but once we got to our late teens, we had less and less in common with each other. I see her occasionally and don't dislike her but don't feel any connection to her.

That's probably largely down to me and my autism. We lived in different parts of the country for most of our adult life and I have a tendency to drift away from people if I'm not in close contact with them.

Theoretically, I think we might be missing out on something but i don't actually feel that emotionally.

My brother lives more than two hours away. We both have young families so I see him once a month for the whole day. We talk on the phone weekly and WhatsApp every few days so are quite close.

I live abroad and only see my sisters every couple years . We use to be best friends in our 20’s but I so feel I have grown apart from them now. It’s sad 😞

All my siblings live within 1-1.5hrs driving time. Our parents are still alive so we'd often see each other at their house. Frequently enough that get together aren't awkward. I'm unlikely to go to most of them for advice, or share my innermost thoughts with them, but they're all lovely people and I'm happy to spend time with them.

Very close. Two sisters and one brother. All of our partners get in great too.

Used to be really close to two of them. I miss them now. It's life though.

Not close

This is a perfect thread to show everyone who says ‘you can’t have just one child, they need a sibling’. Having a sibling is not a guarantee they’ll get on!

Speak often (text or calls) throughout the week or during weekend. See them multiple times a week, at least once per week. We all love quite close to each other. We are all very close, can talk to them and rely on them for anything at all. I'm very lucky

I have three siblings. One I text regularly and see pretty often even though we live 2.5 hours apart. Our kids are the same age, and me and their spouse are close too. We've been described as being twin-like despite being several years apart!

Second sibling I am close to, but we communicate and see each other less. Love that spouse, too, and their DD is the same age as my youngest. When we see each other it's wonderful, but other than that we don't talk all that much. Something we are both trying to change.

My other sibling I love dearly but hardly ever talk to and only see a couple of times a year. We get on, but I feel like we never really have a good chat and that I don't know them much anymore. My siblings's spouse is great, but I'm not particularly close to. I do like them, though. Their DS I love and have a very brother/sister relationship with, but I don't know their DD as well, as she takes so long to open up when I see her that she's gone before we can really bond.

I'm one if 5. I'm close to my sisters one more than the other. One I see every couple of months one I see at least weekly. I'm sad I don't have more of a relationship with one brother but our life's are so different. One brother can rot in hell I don't care he's a nasty selfish person

I’m not close to my brother or my sister. My brother has a very pompous, distant manner and drinks too much so time spent with him usually ends with him falling asleep and snoring (he’s been doing this since he was in his 30s) or spouting drunken gobblygook (while I try and keep up polite and friendly responses, but just basically don’t understand what on earth is going on.) I was very close to my sister as a child, but from young adulthood onwards she has become increasingly difficult. Every time I met up with her, for more than a quarter of a century, she would get worked up into a state - she was a screaming hysterical ball of rage. Every single time. For years, I felt guilty about this, but I never once intended to upset her. Eventually it all became too much and about nine years ago I completely withdrew from her - just didn’t contact her or ever suggest we meet up etc and stayed polite but distant in all my dealings with her. This actually did lead to a massive improvement in her behaviour and there have been very few angry outbursts since that time. I am trying now to repair my relationship with her, but I am unable to completely relax in her presence or trust her. It’s like something switched inside me and I don’t think I will ever overcome these feelings of fear and anxiety around her.

I got given out to by a colleague for having the temerity to have an only child. Properly given out to. I have an only child because I didn't have the money for another. The more I thought about it, the more I was astounded at the cheek of her. We would have loved another child, but when we discussed it, we decided that what little money we had would be better directed at the child we actually had.

NC with my brother, I have a step and half brother neither of whom I ever speak with.

My parents have loathed each other ever since I can remember, they divorced when I was a baby and have been appalling role models for relationships.

I have zero guilt, a little sadness but what's the point in worrying about stuff you have absolutely no control over.

One sister who is my best friend. My partner has 4 brothers and they’re all really close too.

Three sisters- we text and call regularly throughout every single day. One I see daily, another I see at least weekly. We have always been close, but are now very close as adults especially now we all have our own children. Saying that, maybe it’s our family that is unusual. We are the second generation of our family to live on the same street as each other.