Sibling rivalry revisted

I’m in Ibiza with my sister Katie. We´ve had a row. Or more precisely, she had hit me with a barrage of drunken abuse, to which I´ve been trying *trying* not to rise. It´s fine. I am no longer a teenager, and have dealt with much worse from Jonah, so I know to ignore it and it´ll get better once she´s sobered up and had enough sleep.

It’s always been like this, my relationship with Katie. I put it down to the fact there are only 12 months between us. Babies simply can’t cope at that age with the arrival of a sibling, and the realtionship never quite gets past the ID stage of development. ie. a bruised ego that suffered the indignity of being usurped never quite recovers.

It started off well. We get on fine in small doses, and we´re adults now, so we should. But there are always niggles. Katie is currently running with this one. In a state that can only be described as ´tired and emotional,´she is now threatening to go home. Becasue I went to bed at 11.00pm (12.00am local time) last night. After getting up at 3.00 am to get the plane, I´d had enough of the crowds and the booze and trying to have a good time, and Katie needling at me to have a good time, when I was having a perfectly pleasant time, so I went to bed.

The problem with planning a four night break leaving at 3.00am where we´re both full time working parents is the pressure to have a good time, But for me, getting enough sleep these days is vital to me enjoying anything, particually aheady jaunt best left to  youths and the dropouts, which I warned her when she was making the booking.

I know myself well enough to know I won´t sleep in, however late I go to bed. I woke up at 7.34, which is a pretty good innings for me. Katie told me to shut up and go back to sleep. I got up and decided to blog, being what I normally do when I wake up in the mornings and don´t have to go to work.

I am 32. I don’t feel the need to party till dawn just because I am on holiday. Katie says I’ve “ruined her hen-do.” She reminds me of my mother in one of her more hysterical holiday moments of our childhood. I just think I was tired and we can have a bigger night tonight. I hope she doesn’t leave. That would just be cutting her nose of to spite her face, which is typically teenage behaviour.

The thing about siblings or any family member for that matter, is that we revert to a state of being that is how we were when we spent most of our time together. And Kaite and I fought so much as teenagers, that I was kinda grateful when my dad decided to send me to “live with my bloody mother”. It wasn´t a decision that I was involved in, bundled as I was into a car aged 15 with my possessions in a bin bag, for a stony faced two hour car ride and a lifetime of damaged relations with my father.

The trouble with behaving badly is the person you’ve behaved badly towards reminds you of you own bad behaviour, and rather than apologise, you continue to blame the person who you behaved badly towards so you can absolve yourself. My dad has done this most of my life and I wondering whether Katie will start now.

It’s a shame. We started on good terms, with a sense of joviality despite the early start, and the fact that Katie and I are among the oldest people here at the Ibiza Rocks Hotel where Katie was determined we should “do it before we get past it”. I felt past it in Benecassim two years ago, but that doesnt stop me occasionally trying.

We had a pleasant day getting acclimatised, although katie, only one year post partum, felt self concious around a pool full of teenagers and twentysomethings. I don´t think she needs to wrory. For the one or two who are perfect, there’s a barrage of biscuit barrels waddling around. The thing is, Katie like flirting with boys, and always has. I mean, who doesn’t? To her it’s a game, and practically the ‘be all and end all’ to her escaping realtiy for a few days. Her annoyances with me were to do with the fact I wouldn’t go back into the crowds and chat up blokes. But I can’t really be bothered with all that. Not really. Not when the competition has ten years under me, and the blokes in question are oiky youths on a testorerone high.

Ah, it seems she has sobered up and is not leaving after all. Well that’s okay then. Happy hols! I’m off to do yoga.