Jackson Free Press

I polled a few of my favorite Jacksonians about their siblings. I asked: What do you cherish most about your relationship with your siblings?

"I love that my two sisters and I are in different stages of life at ages 26, 21 and 13. This is always refreshing and allows us to share advice and reminisce about our "glory days!" Being together through good times and hard ones are what makes being sisters special."—Savanah Perry (two sisters: Hallie Marie and Julee)

"Each relationship that I have with my siblings is unique, amazing, and disturbing all at the same time, which further purports the reason why we are all special and have our own tastes and specialties. I enjoy being in the middle of all these crazy personalities because I can really learn from my older siblings--mistakes, successes, and the such--but also be the best mentor possible for those who are younger than myself. I cherish each moment that we spend together as a clan."—WC McClendon (five siblings: Willie, Candace, Nicole, Benton Chase and William)

"My sister and I lived in two different cities as teenagers, so our relationship was strained because it was difficult for us to connect. So naturally, I was a little skeptical about things when she moved to the neighborhood two years ago ... four houses down from me. What I thought could've been a disaster has turned out to be one of the biggest blessings. I'm so grateful for the time that we've had as adults to build our relationship. She is my best friend, and she is one of the most thoughtful, kind, dedicated and hard-working people that I know. She is my "little" sister, but I look up to her in so many ways."—Meredith Sullivan (two siblings: Morgan and Will Walker)

"One of the things I cherish most is the way my siblings and I share a sense of humor, fueled by random references to moments and quotes from our childhood that no one else gets. ... Pretty amazing."Beth Kander (three younger siblings: Jacob, Adam and Claire)