You tend to feel like a third parent
Growing up, you changed their diapers, helped give them baths, and babysat them. All. The. Time. Because of all that responsibility you take on, you tend to feel not only like an older sibling, but like a parent as well.
You remember when they were born
I didn’t realize how great this was until recently, when I learned that most people don’t really remember their siblings’ birth. When your siblings are a lot younger than you, you remember the day you found out that your mom was pregnant, the day they were born, and waking up the next morning to the sound of a crying (new) baby.
You weren’t that close to them growing up…
But now you guys are inseparable. When you are so much older than your siblings, they can have a tendency to be pretty irrelevant to your life. However, as they get older, their lives become more similar to yours and it suddenly becomes so much easier to relate to them. Sadly, this usually happens right in time for your departure to college.
It’s super weird watching them hit major milestones
First day of middle school, first day of high school, first girl/boy problems, first winter formal, first time driving. Milestones that you feel like you just hit literally yesterday suddenly make you realize that they happened so many years ago. It also makes you feel really old, which brings me to my next point…
They make you feel really old
And I mean REALLY old. You find yourself saying things like, “well, when I was your age…” or “back when I went to [insert high school event here]…” and it’s so weird. Growing up, they used to think that you were so cool and then somewhere along the way, the tables turn and suddenly your baby brother or sister starts keeping up with the trends a lot better than you are. For example, I literally just synced up my Spotify account with my little brother’s because he somehow finds good new music light years before I do. We all start to feel old with time, but having way younger siblings makes you feel it a lot earlier.