Dear Bolton Carley,
Every time I go home for family holidays, I find that my little
brother tries to one-up me. I love my
family and want my husband and kids to know them, but it drives me crazy that
he always has to out-do me. We got a new
car before Easter and when we went home for 4th of July, they had an
even nicer one. If we get my parents
ipods, he shows up with a big screen TV.
It’s so frustrating. What do I
do?
Signed,
Out done
Dear Outdone,
First off, you may not always like them, but they’re still
your family, and you have to love them!
Now, if it were me, I would take this as an opportunity to make your
life better. I’m thinking: offer them a big family vacation to Lake of
the Ozarks and maybe next year you’ll all be in the Hamptons on his dime! Or if you’re going out to dinner, be sure to
say he should drive since he has the new big fancy vehicle. Take advantage of it, my friend!
All kidding aside, is there a chance that he was the little
brother who followed you around or looked up to you? Perhaps he doesn’t even realize how it makes
you feel, maybe he’s still just following his big sister’s lead, and that
should be taken as sheer flattery. Not
only that, but I often say perspective is everything. Would you rather have a brother that calls
you asking for rent money or that lands himself in jail for a drug deal? Suddenly, a little game of “anything you can
do, I can do better” doesn’t seem so horrible.
Bottom line: You can
fix cars and dogs, but you just gotta love family.
-BC
