The Family That Fights With Each Other Stays Together

One New Year’s Day a few years ago, my sister was quite pissed off with something and decided not to go to our annual family photoshoot. No matter how all of us convinced her to go ahead with it, she was so unyielding. Out of frustration, I couldn’t do anything but cry. I started this annual family tradition and on its first year, I was so disheartened that we might not be able to make it. At the end of the day, my sister’s livid mood thawed and we finally had our first family photoshoot.

Yes, that’s our family. Aside from being so noisy, we argue a lot. That’s why I named us “The Noisiest Bunch”. My mother used to scold us when we were younger. Our voices were always on high volume, not moderate, let alone low. My father totally hated it when we raised our voices at each other. He would always remind us that siblings were supposed to be in harmony, not being in a revolution or bedlam.

My parents were not the type to argue and shout at each other. We didn’t even see them fight or bicker in front of us. I really don’t know why we raise our voices when we talk. It has become a norm in our household. My mother nagged a lot, yes, but only because we were too hard-headed or we avoided any chore assigned to us in the house. It has been this way ever since. We talk as if we are yelling. We discuss as if we are arguing. I think most of our arguments stem from being too open with each other. We share secrets. We are too straightforward. We meddle in each other’s lives. The phrase “Mind your own business” doesn’t apply to our family. We always want to be involved in each other’s issues. If other families lack communication, ours has too much that it builds misunderstanding among us. But at the end of the day, we kiss and make up. We love each other that much. Even if we have cursed at each other during an argument, we easily patch things up. No conflict lasts for months. We don’t practice silent treatment and cold shoulder in our family. I am the first one to get affected if some of us don’t talk to each other because of some disagreement. I guess there will always be that leader of the pack, one who maintains the peace and order and commands ceasefire when it’s already going to be World War 3. And that will be me, the eldest of the family.

Let me tell you one story that happened years ago. My brother just cooked hotdogs when my sister came into the kitchen. As she attempted to take one from the plate, my brother told her to wash her hands first since she just came from outside. My sister, who would always taunt my brother, kept on pretending to snatch a hotdog. Running out of patience, my brother punched her in the eye. Taken aback for what he did, he tried to check my sister’s eye but she pushed his hand away, getting hysterical. My brother, wrapped up with guilt now, took a chunk of ice from the freezer and wrapped it in a cloth and gave to my sister. ​And that is the reason why we have always stayed together. Who ever said that fighting in the family isn’t fun?