Sibling rivalry never really ends.

Speaking of family, I have been thinking about siblings [I have 7] and sibling rivalry.

It is my observation that sibling rivalry never really ends. It continues on, gracefully or not, into old age. When it works well we scamp around like puppies, when it doesnt…well the literature on alcohol abuse covers a lot there.

I wonder if siblings fight with special fervor because we are so much alike.

In my current family there are 5 of us, the children are extremely strong-willed. Where the **** did that come from? :) The parent-child pairs where there is the most similarity are the ones with both emotional intimacy and open fighting. Not a coincidence.

Finally, an analogy from our Russian work. In the original mother organization there have been 5 or 6 people who have quit in disgust and formed their own charities because they couldn’t work with the founder. I am one of the spinoffs. My insight is that this kind of personal conflict is inherent in the situation. The very people who would decide that working in a country 5,000 miles away under awful conditions is a GOOD idea, are the same people that are strong-willed, stubborn determined, and prone to fighting with each other. Only people like us are willing to do this work, and such people are destined to fight with each other.

Just my dva kopekii.