Getting Along With My Family (Or Not)

First things first: no one gets along perfectly. And it's the same with my family. Because we homeschool and we spend a lot of time together we know each other very well. We know each other's moods, when we are feeling happy, sad, annoyed, and it's easier to judge where our wall is and if we have hit it. However spending so much time with each other, we can get on each other's nerves sometimes.

Sometimes, I get annoyed or mad at my mom and/or my siblings when we all are at home. When that happens I will normally just go to my room and listen to music, really loudly, or text my friends. Of course, getting along with your parents is much different then getting along with your siblings. For example, my siblings have the same amount of power as me, and they are much younger, so I will normally win. With your parents it's a whole different thing since they have much more power than you. But my mom is great, she almost always says yes to everything I want to do, for example, go to Jamba Juice with a friend or have a sleepover or do another class. I don't see my dad as much as I would like, because he goes to work most of the day, but he is easy to have a good relationship with, and I never fight with him.

My mom and I have similar personalities which may make you think we get along very well. Sometimes we do, but we tend to snap at each other, usually when one of us is in a bad mood. My mom gets irritable when she has to drive a lot, and I get irritable when my siblings are playing a really loud, obnoxious game. Since we are both stubborn and strong-headed we often get on different sides of an argument. For example we (my siblings and I) have a dog walking job. Mom thought I was cheating them (my sibs) out of the money they deserved, I didn't, but I thought that my sister was cheating my brother out of money. This went on and on until I had to give in.

If I was in school, I don't think I would get along with my family as well as I do. Because I wouldn't have grown up with their ever changing moods and I wouldn't know how they were feeling about something. Of course there are those times when I’m in a bad mood. I might not be the easiest person to live with at that point. From time to time I lose my temper and snap at my brother or sister, like when they are being loud and I need to concentrate. But I know, since they are my family, that they will still love me. And despite our differences, I think that my siblings and I get along better than if we were in school. I love hanging out with them since they have such different personalities. With Rafael I like playing basketball, or soccer and with Isa I like watching TV, and going on walks.

Miraculously enough, we don't fight that often. My mom and I have never, in the history of what I remember, fought about schoolwork or chores. Mom might nag me to do stuff, or tell me to get something done if I'm not that enthusiastic about it, but we hardly ever fight. I guess its all those years of practicing!