Aes & Crumbs

Hey all ! 🙂

Hope it’s been good with every one!

Have you ever come across this line on social media?

“Is the person a girl? Is she the first daughter? The first granddaughter? Then brace yourself!”

For a while, my reels were filled with memes like this.
At first, I used to feel confused — even annoyed.
Why is the world so mean?
She was simply the center of attention for a while, until a sibling arrived.
Does that really justify such comments?

Later, I tried to decode it.

Yes, for a long time — until her sibling was born — she was the one in the spotlight.
Her little mind may not have easily given up that attention.
Suddenly, everything she knew had to be shared: toys, love, care, time.
She became the “big sister,” even before she understood what that meant.

She may not always express love gently.
She may appear mischievous or adamant or not that ‘good girl, may be’.
But she watches over her sibling silently — checking on them while they sleep, peeking into their classroom while walking down the school veranda.

So far, the story seems simple.
But why “brace yourself”?

Let’s go back to that phrase: “the privilege of being the center of attraction.”

She knew her parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins —
from their younger days.

Maybe she was born when her parents were in their late 20s or early 30s, and her grandparents in their late 50s.
As she grew up, she celebrated each birthday surrounded by love, surprises, and familiar faces.
But she didn’t realize that those familiar faces were aging too.

Then comes a phase in her life — maybe college, maybe early adulthood — when she argues with her parents, cares deeply for her grandparents, loves her siblings but still creates chaos at home.

People say,
“Oh, this house gets so noisy when she’s back from her hostel.”

But inside, her inner child is calming down in the only space she calls her own.
No one sees that.
No one understands how precious it is to her.

When her mom ignores her health,
when the aunt who once bought her favorite things doesn’t rest or didn’t wear the matching necklace for an outfit,
when the youngest sibling dismisses her advice, and even when her dear people doesn’t really relate with her —
you hear her arguing, scolding, raising her voice.

But deep down, she’s hurting.
She has realized something painful:

While she grew up, the people she loved grew older too.

She values them fiercely.
She argues because she cares.
She fights because she’s not ready to lose what she believes is hers.

So yes — brace yourself.
Because that “her,” “him”, the firstborn, the second, or the third, that person who seems dramatic, loud, emotional, protective…

is your blessing.

Take care!

See you later 🙂

MJ.