Birth order

The psychology of birth order has been around for decades.  It goes something like this: oldest child is the boss, middle child is neglected, and the youngest child is adored.

Generally speaking, birth order is spot on.  At least in our household.  We reared three children, loved them all equally, but for sure Andrea, oldest child, was the self-appointed leader; Jenny, middle, was neglected – at least during her early years; and, to this day, our youngest, John, can do no wrong.

This morning it occurred to me that the psychology of birth order was still alive and raging in our household.  It hit me after looking at recently taken pictures.  They all were of the newest member of our family: Sammie, our 6-month-old border collie.  Mika, the middle dog at 9 years, was visible in some of the frames, but only because of her proximity to the puppy.  Baxter, the oldest, is there, too.  In one photo she can be seen “leading” from her perch atop an outdoor cushioned chair. 

We haven’t always had three dogs.  It was about seven years ago that we first upped the number of canines in our home from two to three, just about the same time we were coincidentally empty nesting.  Were we replacing our children with dogs??  At least one neighbor thought so.  While walking all three dogs, he hollers, “Which one is Andrea?”

Have our dogs taken the children’s place?  In our hearts, no.  In our home, yes.  Ok, sorta in our hearts, too.

Below are some of my recent pics.

How adorable is she??

Bax: Perched and ready to lead, if necessary and/or awake.

Mika herding Addison.  Always.

   

GOOOOAALLLLLL!!!

 

Move over Mika, you're blocking Sammie.

Grandpa's helpers.

 

Dog house with a view.