Getting along with friends and siblings was one of those things in my upbringing that was simply expected. And any fighting and arguing with, or ill treatment of, others was dealt with promptly and firmly!

I suppose I was fortunate to be born with a fairly sunny personality, and I certainly was very fortunate to be born into a large family connection, as well as faith-based extended family, from whom I received endless amounts of love and encouragement. Furthermore, my mother was one of the most "getting along with" persons ever born, I am sure. Everybody loved mom, and so I had a wonderful example right in front of me. I certainly have never come anywhere near her special gifting of friendliness and kindness, but I have always striven to be at least a little bit like her in that way.

I had three younger siblings by the time I was ten, along with numerous cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and many honorary relatives with whom we spent a great deal of time. We always lived in a neighborhood with lots of playmates, although in my early years they were mostly boys, so I became a bit of a tom-boy! Our house was always "Grand Central Station" as my mom would cheerfully welcome into our home anyone and everyone who came by. Mom welcomed in and fed and cared for, physically and emotionally, the Fuller Brush man, the young homesick Mormon missionaries, and all the neighborhood women who needed a shoulder to cry on. Every Sunday, mom would invite someone home from church for dinner. We had big family reunions on a very regular basis, and as both my parents were teachers, we traveled far and wide visiting friends and family during every school holiday. If we were home during summer holidays, everybody we knew who was passing through our town would arrive to visit, and of course be invited to stay for supper, for the night, and for as long as they wanted basically. Sometimes in the summer, we would go away camping for a couple days, just to have a rest from the endless company!

I do not remember "not getting along with" anyone at all in my pre-school years. It was quite a shock to me when I went to school, and discovered that not everybody was automatically a friend, and that there was a pecking order... but you'll find out about that in another story!

Posted: Aug 23, 2008