Large Family Idiosyncrasies #3: The Buddy System

You remember my definition of a large family? Part of it involves parents having more children than they can hold onto at the same time. This is when the Buddy System needs to be implemented.

Some things about large families are rather humourous, but the Buddy System is not particularly so. It is, however, one of the most wonderful things about being part of a big family, from a sibling's point of view, and it looks like this:

Pretending I know what I'm doing, so I can help her.

Sitting still, because he fell asleep on me.

Feeding him--sometimes things he wants to eat, but often requiring more persuasion.

Getting stuck at a table with him.

Making gingerbread houses with her.

The buddy system links an older kid with a younger kid, and they become a special unit within the larger family team, as the older child keeps track of the younger one and takes care of them. 

Basically, we older kids are Jedi Masters, the younger ones were our Padawans, and as more children were born, they graduated to become Jedi Knights, so that we could take on new apprentices. 

If you know nothing about the Star Wars universe, that illustration is likely not helpful, but it is a very good explanation of how the buddy system works. 

Rebekah was technically my first buddy, but she was really too old to need much help (I will refrain from comparing her situation with that of Anakin Skywalker—this post already has too many Star Wars references), and as soon as Tabitha was born, I switched to taking care of her. Several years later, Sam became my last buddy. Andrew had Maxwell, and Margaret took care of David Clayton and then Marta. William, poor fellow, had two half-buddies—Andrew and Rebekah both. 

The Buddy Oath 

(which I just now made up, reflecting some of the experiences I've had over the years)

If you are my buddy...

1. I will hold your hand, despite your best efforts to extricate it.

2. I will sit next to you at the table, holding a fork in front of your mouth as long as is necessary.

3. I will wake up in the middle of the night and crawl under your bed to retrieve your blanket.

4. I will always check your seatbelt.

If I am your buddy... (the younger buddy's half)

5. I will learn your name before anyone else's.

6. I will pick your lap to sit on.

7. I will wake you up in the middle of the night when I lose my blanket.
8. I will grow up and want to do things on my own.

Even when the younger half of a buddy team has grown up, there is still a special bond between buddies, more than an ordinary sibling relationship. Beka, TJ, Sam-a-Rammers—Love you guys!