Family (Siblings) when it's hard...

Okay, I tried to play with them; I’ve tried to be nice. But they are too terrible. I understand, honestly I do. I am the oldest then I have a 14 year old sister who I for the most part get along with. Then I have a brother who is 12 (bad age) A very loud 8 year old sister and my 2 year brother. They are all spread out so they really don’t play together, only fight and all of them want my sister and I to give them attention. I know obnoxious.
Yesterday I did some babysitting for a lady in our church who has three children under the age of four. They were so sweet and I loved being with them, though I came home tired and wanting some time to myself. My siblings did not agree with this idea to say the least. All I heard…
“Lydia, will you read me a book…”
“I wanted to tell you about…”
“Will you play a game with me…”
Then when the older ones finally went to their piano lessons I hoped I would have it quiet while my 2 year brother took his nap. He decided he didn’t want a nap. So there went my quiet afternoon. The family arrived home far too soon and again.
“He’s knocking over my tower…”
SCREAM!
“He won’t get out of my stuff….”
“I don’t want to help clean up…”
Relate?
So what do you do when your siblings annoy the snot out of you? What do you say when all you want is for them to stop fighting and leave you alone?
“You have been selfish.”
“Mom, I’m tired. I got up at five – thirty and I’ve been working all morning.”
“You should die to your own will and spend some time with them and bring order.”
“I read him his book.”
“OH, that was five minutes.”
Then you get the pep talk. So how do you deal with all this? I’ll tell you what I did and even though the rest of my day wasn’t perfect I managed to make it 80% better.
1. Pray for help
2. Find someone to laugh with. I found my sister and my mom very helpful in this. I just sat down and started talking about the best parts of my day and soon we were enjoying each other again.
3. Strive to not yell. I know it’s hard, I really do. But Proverbs 15:1 says, “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” So they won’t respond with goodness if you yell or are harsh. Sometimes I’ve felt like that was the only way to get their attention but obviously it’s not the right way.