Mischievous and pampered

I’m not that much of a reader.  Never have been, never will be.  I believe it dates back to how hard it was for me to learn because of dyslexia.  So when my uncle, Jim, sent me a subscription of The Week a couple years ago, that basically sums of all news in one little short magazine, I’m all over it.  My favorite part of the magazine is The Last Word, which is a shot story printed on the last two pages.  I usually flip to end to read that first, then the real estate section, then I start at the beginning.

Anyway, this week, The Last Word is about birth order.  It says that first-born people have a leg up on all the other siblings.  More first-borns are scientists, Nobel Prize Winners and surgeons.  Of the 23 American astronauts, 21 were firstborns (with the other two being only children).  It goes on to say that, last-borns are “charming, affectionate, mischievous, pampered, temperamental, and irresponsible”.

In this article, it talks about how second-born kids are always trying to beat the firstborn kid.  Since I’m both a 2^nd born and a last born, I couldn’t help but think about when Ann and I were competing against each other in the 200 butterfly at some swim meet in Nashville.  It was the finals and we were placed right next to each other- she was in lane 5 and I was in lane 6. We were neck and neck up until the 150 mark and all of a sudden, she kicked it into high gear.  Of course, I noticed and tried to keep up.  She out-touched me by a few hundredths of a second.  I can’t remember the exact time- but I remember how I felt.  I quickly got out of the pool, ripped off my swim cap, threw down my goggles, and said a few adult words at her.  So I guess the article is right. Hahaha.

It also made me think of Luke and how he’ll have a leg up on his younger brother or sister.  I hope he lets his little bro/sis beat him every once in awhile- you know, just to be nice.  Maybe this is why I always favor the baby of the family…because the baby always needs a little help-an extra push.  And hey, you never know, Luke sister or brother might be the 1^st second-born American astronaut- although I’m pretty positive she’ll/he’ll be dyslexic- genetics always win.