STUCK IN THE MIDDLE

In-Between The World And You

In the middle, the centre, the second in line, second best ... I’ve heard these tags, these labels, I’m sure you have to. Well here I am, this is who I am, this is my name the world sees me by ... the middle child.

Now I’m sure you’ve heard the tales ... you know ... ‘the middle child is worst off’, ‘the friend stuck in the middle of the fight’, ‘they wont talk to each other, so their messenger is sent between them’, the list could go on!

Being in the middle ... that is my domain! Forever the mediator, the messenger, the supporter, the betrayer ... wherever I go I am always there, this is where I stand ... between the world and you.

The system I am slave to has many names, the most simplistic is the ‘nucellar family’. There are the mother, the father, and in this case the three siblings. There is the oldest sibling, the first born; the middle sibling, the second born; then the youngest sibling, the baby of the family. It doesn’t matter what age or sex the siblings are, it has always turned out the same:

The eldest sibling, the first born; they are the pride of the family, responsible, respectable, the first to put down the path that the younger siblings are to follow, strong willed, confident, they have the world by the neck and strangle it all they want.

The youngest sibling, the baby of the family; they are the families joy, young, sweet, innocent, cute, well mannered, and well loved, not to mention spoiled. They dutifully follow the elders path, they watch the eldest sibling with awe, giggle, laugh and cheer as the eldest strangles the world, seeing it as a big game, but they are not expected to know any better.

The middle sibling, the second born; they are the families confusion but gentle love, understanding, mediator, joker, entertainer, though a bit wayward from their other siblings. They observe the youngest siblings antics with a careful and watchful eye, protecting and shielding of the youth. They carefully watch the eldest sibling, supporting yet cautious, they know the pain of the eldest bite and sting, watch them strangle the world with a cautious eye, not knowing what will become of it.

Then as always through life there is a disaster. The eldest’s life is shattered, the world they had at their fingertips has slipped and they are swept down the eternal plug whole into the dark, therefore dragging everyone down with them. The youngest sibling will not understand, will watch the eldest sibling fail and fall, and obediently will try to follow. The middle sibling will watch everything with a confused air, but unlike the younger sibling will slowly learn to understand, and slowly, if the eldest is unable, start to pick up the shattered pieces of their life and store them away, clean the slate so the eldest can start anew.

That is the process within a family ... or so it was in my family ...