Only The Lonely.

My parents wanted multiple kids.

Fortunately or not, they got one.

(I am going to lean heavily on the side of fortune with this one...)

But that's it, they got one, only one.

Me.

Talk about putting all of your proverbial eggs in one basket.

Fuck.

No pressure though.

Onlies tend to have a mentality of, 'you have got this', and by this, I mean all of your parents greatest wishes and desires in your back pocket.

Or down your throat.

Do not even attempt to think, your brother, Peter, and sister Mary, can divert your parents attention on this one.

In fact, I have not ONE sibling that can help divert anything away, because, well quite frankly, when God discovered perfect, he stopped...

Sometimes ONE is all you need.

And NO, only children are NOT spoiled, nor do we have a major ego complex, and finally no, we most certainly don't have a Napoleon complex.

Side note though, funnily enough, my reality reminds me that I am, in fact, short, may have a power complex, and I do in fact, have an original oil painting of Napoleon on horseback in my family room.

HOWEVER, that piece of art, is meant to serve as my daily reminder, that EVERYDAY, especially with kids, can be your Waterloo.

Aka, full of false hope.

Anyways...

Onlies are just that, onlies.

We reap the rewards, and yes, truth be told, there are many, but I also think onlies could do well, in say, Prison.

Only kids have to fend for ourselves.

I don't have my sister, Sally, to protect me.

I got ME.

AND parents of onlies are what I would like to imagine as, scramblers.

I can only imagine my own parents pacing through the night, worrying, endlessly.

Thinking to themselves...

Shit, we only have one.

Better make this one the best we can.

Insert parental thought train to include, and introduce, every lesson known to man.

Scrambling to sign me up for everything and anything.

Yes I was a child model.

No, they didn't sign me up for that, however...

Oh wait, where was I going?

Oh yes, fast forward to ME, now having a lot of KIDS, and this is where I can now clearly see, that expectations should be thinned across the herd.

It is almost like watching a horse race.

One which you invested in heavily, but, eh, you know to expect a loser in the crew.

We can't all be winners kiddos.

I haven't paced about anything since my last Amazon order got lost.

Lessons, my adorable cherubs?

Oh, that's right!!

You mentioned, dance class?!

I signed you up!

At 4 pm come downstairs.

The class is called, watch me listen to Alexa while I attempt to remember some 90's dance moves, while also cooking something that only a few will eat.

Meanwhile I took Ice skating lessons as Rockefeller Center...

BUT that is why an only child is a thoroughbred.

ONE OF A KIND.

A creature that commands attention.

Multitasker extraordinaire.

We have to.

Listen, as far as we are concerned, the future of the world has been put upon our backs.

Onlies are almost always multifaceted. (Because of a parents paranoia, and all those lessons we got.)

Yet, I need people to be reminded, as an only child, we are every parents hopes and dreams wrapped into one.

Therefore, giving us an internal voice that screams, "if we fuck this up, we will ruin our parents only chance giving back to society."

That shit is HEAVY.

I feel akin to Jesus with that Cross on this one...

So don't think, when you see an only child that they are spoiled, selfish, or demanding.

And yes, we CAN be all three, but remember, only children have the weight of their parents worlds on their shoulders, AND, I don't have a brother Mike to blame.

So go easy on us.

Ok?

And last time I checked, siblings can be assholes.

They aren't all sunshine and rainbows.

How would I know?

Because even though I didn't have any, I found myself producing a few...

Anyways back to me.

DUH.

Only child here!

And no, I am not attention seeking, but I do need to keep you focused, on me, and what I am saying.

Because, well, just like me, it's important, and one of a kind.

Signing off.

Xoxo,

C.