Growing up, we always had to eat vitamins to keep us young Laird children healthy. Vitamin C was always my favorite. Sometimes I would chew them, and sometimes I would just let them dissolve slowly on my tongue. I liked the way Vitamin C had that slightly tart, slightly zingy sensation.
It must have been when I was just learning to read. Ashley and I went to Mom who was working on Laird Enterprises work and asked her if we could have a Vitamin C. Perhaps we had an unhealthy like of Vitamin C if we were asking mom if we could eat them. We didn’t feel that way towards other vitamins, but Vitamin C was out favorite.
Mom of course said we could. She reminded us where the vitamins were kept and told me to read the label to make sure it was Vitamin C. Ashley was probably too young at this point to read. We scurried up to the kitchen and got a stool so we could get up to the cupboard with the vitamins in it. We eagerly climbed onto the counter and I shuffled through the vitamins looking for Vitamin C. Mom had trusted me to READ the label, so I had to use my letters. I knew what C looked like, but I was still a bit fuzzy on the others, especially those last few v,w,x,y,z those guys were hard to remember.
Finally, I found the one with the C on it. I sat down next to Ashley on the counter and unscrewed the lid. We each took one, as Mom had told us to do, and popped them in our mouths. I decided I would chew my Vitamin C today. I anticipated that zingy tart, taste running throughout my mouth. It never came. Instead I got an incredibly bitter taste all throughout my mouth. I looked over at Ashley who was drooling and trying to spit out her Vitamin out on the counter. What was wrong with my Vitamin C, it was making me want to throw up. We both rushed to the sink and spit out our vitamins and rinsed our mouths with water vigorously.
“The Vitamin C doesn’t taste right”, I said to mom as I showed her the bottle I had grabbed.
“Oh no. That doesn’t say Vitamin C Andrew”, Mom said. “It ends with a C, but see it begins with a Z. It’s a Zinc. I bet that didn’t taste too good.”
Mom took us back upstairs and got us the real Vitamin C and we got the bitter taste out of our mouths as quick as we could.
I took to heart what mom said. Specific letters are only as good as the letters that come before them!
I am the 2nd born of 4 children in the family (see image below). Being an analytical type by nature, I sometimes analyze myself and one way to do that is to try to figure out if I fit into the Middle Child stereotypeor (because I’m actually the eldest boy on top of being the second child) do I take more of a first born role?
The Siblings - Note these are actual photos taken of the children as much as 30 years before they were born!
Henry T. Stein developed some basics of children behavior. Here’s his summary of the positions that may apply to me and my thoughts:
Second
| He has a pacemaker. There is always someone ahead. | Is more competitive, wants to overtake older child. May become a rebel or try to outdo everyone. Competition can deteriorate into rivalry. |
Jenna is my elder sister, so she’s the one that was “always ahead” of me. I’m not sure if Dr. Stein meant “peacemaker” rather than “pacemaker” but either applies really. I don’t like conflict and tried to keep my siblings from fighting. Unless we were fighting Alex (my younger brother), he was fair game. I never felt very competitive, but maybe I was in the depths of my brain. I’m still not competitive at all, but I am a better driver than Jenna and I’m taller than her too, not to mention I’m more dashing and stronger.
Eldest
| Dethroned by next child. Has to learn to share. Parent expectations are usually very high. Often given responsibility and expected to set an example. | May become authoritarian or strict. Feels power is his right. Can become helpful if encouraged. May turn to father after birth of next child. |
This is a stretch since I’m just the eldest boy, not the eldest child, and it was 4 years after I was born until the next boy (Alex) was born. So I didn’t feel very “dethroned” by him since I was far Superior. Maaaybee I was kinda strict and authoritarian towards him, but you’ll have to ask him – either way I think he’s cool now. I like the part about being helpful, that’s me to a T
Middle
| Is “sandwiched” in. May feel squeezed out of a position of privilege and significance. | May be even-tempered, “take it or leave it” attitude. May have trouble finding a place or become a fighter of injustice. |
Ashley (Sister) and I are both middle children, so we were both squeezed out of privilege and significance. This could be remedied by larger portions of the parents will, but I’m probably still out of the will and will therefore have to get back in before I can get any extras. The even-tempered is a good description of me. I usually only get riled up after several days of repeated abuse from my siblings.
Only Boy Among Girls
| Usually with women all the time, if father is away. | May try to prove he is the man in the family, or become effeminate. |
This applied for the first 4 years of my life and, truthfully, Dad was not “away” all that much so I had a good man figure despite my sisters attempts to make me “effeminate.” No high heels here. I’m sure there’s probably deep underlying scars from having to live 4 years without a brother for support though. They probably will become evident when I go through my midlife crisis.
Most of those characteristics seem to focus on the negatives of each position. So here’s some positives of being the second/middle/eldest boy/among girls for 4 years born in the family: I wasn’t the Guinea pig like Jenna, I got Dad’s attention all to myself, I learned how to relate to girls early in life, I had Sister as a fellow middle child to play with, I got to do more cool guy stuff than Jenna did.
