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There are advantages to being the oldest child in the family and I am one. About 18 months after my father returned from Europe after World War II, I came along.
One of the advantages of being the oldest is being able to remember when your younger siblings came along. My mother gave birth to six more babies after I was born.
I was only 2 ½ when the first, Duane, was born. Sadly he died shortly after birth and I have only the dimmest of memories from that time.
When I was 3 ½ Brother Gerald was born. After years of effectively being the only child you remember when that situation comes skidding to a halt. I did, however, love my new brother.
Brother Dave came along two years later and Brother Paul followed three years after that. Paul was less than three when Sister Shirley, was born. Then, less than three years later, Sister Trudy, joined the brood.
Being nearly 14 years old when Trudy was born, I remember hers and the births of each of my four other younger siblings vividly. In large families, the oldest helps raise the youngest and I spent some time caring for my baby sisters.
When Shirley was born we boys had to learn to accept some changes. For the first time we saw dolls in our house along with fancy little dresses and tiny patent leather shoes. When Trudy was born we were ready for another sister. Or so we thought.
My brothers and I were born with strong wills, something we inherited from our tenacious mother. Imagine our chagrin when we realized our sisters were also endowed with strong wills and that the new baby sister had it in droves.
In her first years Trudy showed great tenacity and daring. When she was a toddler our mother was attempting to put her in her high chair when the little tow-head decided to jump out. She broke a leg but the cast did not slow her down.
Brother Dave liked to stretch out on his stomach on the living room carpet. Trudy would jump on his back like she was riding a pony. When Dave teased her Trudy pounded on his back with both fists with all her might. Dave just laughed which frustrated our baby sister who then, red-faced with anger, pounded even harder.
As an older teenager I sometimes came home in the wee hours and early one morning as I quietly tip-toed to my room I could hear sobbing from the room my sisters shared. I stopped by their door and in the dim light saw my baby sister crying.
"What's wrong, Trudy?" I asked. Between sobs, my little blonde sister referred to a then popular television commercial: "They say that blondes have more fun but I don't."
Earlier in the evening, I learned, our parents had denied Trudy some activity and she didn't like it. She was still lamenting her predicament hours later.
Trudy was a month shy of her sixth birthday when I left home and though we still saw each other with some regularity our lives changed.
After graduating from high school Trudy enrolled in Morningside College (now University) in Sioux City. The Morningside campus was less than a mile from our home and for the first time we had close family nearby.
On her first weekend in town Trudy spent Saturday with us and as we discussed our growing up years she said, "You know, I can sort of remember when you still lived at home."
Sort of remember? I was there for 19 years!
Then I realized she was there for only six of those years. The oldest child of a large family and the youngest child, 14 years younger in our case, had grown up in very different households.
Trudy's four years in Sioux City were a treat for my family. We grew closer then and have remained close over the years.
What brings all these memories to mind is the fact that Trudy celebrates a significant birthday this month of November. When your baby sister reaches that significant age you are forced to reassess your own age.
As the oldest I have had the privilege of being around and aware of when each of my siblings joined the brood. That is a privilege I don't take lightly and each of those memories is dear to my heart.
(Arvid Huisman can be contacted at huismaniowa@gmail.com. ©2026 by Huisman Communications.)