1 min read

And the middle child.....

It's no secret that I am a middle child.  In fact, it's no secret that I like middle children.  They are funny, charming and easy to get along with.  Recently, my friend Toby (whose name is changes to protect his middle child invisibility) and I went to the hardware store to buy paint.  We stood there in the aisle for a while looking at the paint and each other.

I said, "What do you think we should get?"

He said,? I was waiting for you to tell me what to do!"

We both laughed.  That's the life of a middle child.

Check out this MSN piece about birth order.  Notice how it says that first borns are high achievers, more successful and more represented at Harvard and Yale.  And that middle children, lost in the shuffle in their families tend to be peacemakers and mediators.  Youngest children, while charming, are manipulative and want to save the world.

Unless my eyes deceive me - the world's richest man is actually a Middle Child.  This man is known for his aggressive desire to get ahead.  He is known to be a good a loyal friend but also has been charged by the government (more than once) for conspiracy to block competition.  So, why is it that the article talks about how great and successful oldest children are when Bill Gates is a middle child.  John F. Kennedy is also a middle child - remind me what bridges was he building in that whole Bay of Pigs thing?  And Madonna who is known for her quick temper and aggressive tendencies is also a middle child.

What are we talking about here?  What?s clear is that middle children are always overlooked ? even in articles discussing the success capacity of their birth order.   I guess while the first born children are busy dancing in the status spotlight and  youngest are off charming and saving the world, the invisible middle child is busy getting it all done.

Sorry folks, not time to dance in the spotlight, I?m invisibly working today.

(We called a few times to check the birth order of the author and were unable to determine where she falls.)

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