Oh brother...

Last night a new friend discovered that I have five brothers.  She laughed and in awe exclaimed, "Oh, that explains SO much!"  I laughed, but later, while recounting the story to my brothers, one of them said, "I'm not sure what she meant, but I am sure it wasn't a compliment."  He was joking (maybe).  But it really did make me think...  
Being an only girl.
Being the oldest.
Having five brothers.
All of that is a huge part of my identity.  A big piece of my puzzle.  A necessary part of my context if you will.
So I thought I should compose a disclaimer:

10 Things You (probably don't) Need to Know 

About Girls with Many Good Brothers

1. We don't see men as the enemy.  We see them as protectors, guardians and warriors for women.   We get VERY VERY angry when we see men failing to live up to their role as men.  Our expectations for men is high.  Maybe even too high sometimes.
2. We are independent.  We have the freedom to go, to do big things, to be ourselves.  Not because we are necessarily extra strong, but because we know our brothers have our back.  No matter what. No matter where we are.  No matter who we become.
3. We offer the best unsolicited advice.  Not because we think we know so much, but because growing up with lots of boys, NO ONE is asking your opinion, ever.  No matter how smart you might be, or how genius your idea is.  We have learned that we should just say it.  And if they don't like it, they will tell us.  And if they do like it, they will most likely pretend like it was their idea all along.  In fact, us girls with lots of brothers are experts at getting you to think our idea was actually yours.  It is a gift built out of necessity.
4. We are loud.  Not because we are trying to be obnoxious.  But because to be heard in a houseful of boys, you need to be loud.  That one voice on a video recording that stands out?  Yep, that is us.  Making sure we won't get missed.  
5. Similarly, our excitement can sometimes be taken as some sort of anger.  Girls with many brothers tend to be very passionate people.  We try to tone it down, but even our toned down volume might be too much.  We won't be offended if you bring ear plugs when you hang out with us.  
6. Large groups of women can freak us out.  Sometimes, there seems to be a lot of feelings being discussed when many ladies get together.  Often times this can feel like a convention of complication to girls who are better versed in topics of farts, obscure movie quotes and sports and who pride themselves on their ability to be blunt and to the point.  (If we become mothers, we will hopefully/slowly learn the importance and blessing of large communities of women, but we will always be most comfortable with just a couple trusted females or hanging out with men.)  
7. We recognize that a high five can convey a wide range of emotions, without a single word being spoken.  And we believe it would be easier if more women utilized this... along with the butt smack.  The butt smack just works, I don't really get it, but it does. 
8. We understand that staying neat and clean is overrated.  We embrace mud, dirt and sweat.  All of these things are indicators that great fun has been had. (Thus making tee shirts, jeans and tennis shoes our favorite wardrobe selections.)
9. We believe that arm wrestling and Indian leg wrestling are perfectly acceptable ways to solve conflicts.  
10. We agree that a hog-pile is the best way to say, "I love you like family."