2025 A to Z Challenge Blog For the letter O

April 17, 2025. Good morning! It’s 0 C, supposed to be going up to 9 C today. The weather is doing its best to behave seasonally–if we knew what season it was! I have my pre-op meeting at the hospital this afternoon where they’ll do an EKG, blood work, and ask, a bunch of questions about my previous medical issues, some I remember, but don’t ask me for dates. The only ones of those I can give you are my children’s birth dates. For others, maybe the years, but honestly, i got better, so do you honestly think I stored that in my never to be forgotten memory file? I’ll also have to bring whatever medications and supplements I’m taking so that they can tell me what to stop. I’ll also meet the anesthetist who will see to it that I don’t feel anything during the surgery. That fun comes later! If I’m lucky, I’ll find out what time I need to be at the hospital for my procedure on the 24th. Procedure sounds so much less terrifying than operation.

Today’s letter is O. I’m going to talk about the pressure of being the oldest sibling. Only children never have that problem and younger ones are spared, but as the oldest, the parents expect you to set the example. I’m the oldest of two. My sister is not quite 4 years younger than I am, but as the oldest, I was supposed to be the one who protected her. Ha! I was the sickly wimp. She was the fighter and as soon as she could, she took over that role. Of course, there were still a lot of firsts, I had to navigate, but she reaped the benefits.

My eldest son was also the trendsetter. Considering that there are only 32 months between my eldest and his brother and sister, the youngest, they actually navigated the teen years pretty much together. When he would get mad at the others, his line was always, Just remember, I was what you never were–an only child. Today, even though they are separated my many miles, they are very close.

My daughter took a page out of our book and had her children clsoe together. You’ve met Tonio, Eleni and Georgia. Now, it’s time to meet the meet Nico, the oldest, the leader, the one who set the bar the others attempt to reach with great success. Born in mid-December, he started pre-K when he was only three. Part way through the year, his parents separated and he became the man of the house. He was four. His siblings where 3, 2, and 9 months old. They and their mother lived in a women’s shelter for three months. They refered to it as the clubhouse and what could’ve been a soul destroying start in live became part of an adventure thanks to the hard work and determination of their mother. When their father died five years later from a Fentanly overdose, it was tragic, but it didn’t change them in any way.

Nico has always been a role model. since Eleni is only 10 1/2 months younger than he is, he doesn’t recall ever being an only child. Those two are very close, but he’s also close to his other sister and brother.

Like the others, he is athletic, participates in activities, and achieved the rank of top cadet in his corps. He graduated from high school as an Ontario Scholar, with an official bilingual certificate, and won a special scholarship for being the kind of student he was. He’s currently writing exams to end his first year at the University of Ottawa. Throughout the year, in addition to getting top marks, he came home biweekly to work weekends at the No Frills store in town, thus earning money that will go toward next year’s tuition. He’s in Health Sciences, and plans to be a medical doctor. Meet Nico.

No matter what he chose to do, he did it well, and I have no doubt that he’ll continue to do so. Once he gets started, there’s nothing to stop him. The oldest leads the way!

Today’s song is one from long ago.

Come back tomorrow for the letter P. Here’s the MASTER LIST https://tinyurl.com/tauke86z