By RTF Staff Writer Shannon Meiers

When I was seven years old, I was an only child. A lonely only child.

I prayed. Long and hard. And very often.

Less than a year later, I held a little blue- blanket wrapped bundle in my arms. My head was filled with all the things I could tell this precious little boy. How he was born, how lonely I was, how excited I was when he was born.

As I write this, that same little boy comes to me and asks me to play with him. And I’m reminded of how big of a job it is being an older sibling. A lot of how he views life, and how he behaves will come from my example. What I do now could influence his life, and by ripples, the lives of potentially hundreds of other people for years to come.

If I push him to the side and ignore him because I’m simply too busy with my own life, then he would learn to treat our little sister the same way, as well as other people he will associate with in his lifetime. But, on the other hand, if I treat him like a valued person and as an equal, he will carry on those traits into all his other relationships….

No pressure.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go play with Legos with my little brother.

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Shannon is a high school sophomore who clearly thinks her siblings are awesome.