Siblings and Parents

A major theme of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius is how Eggers must raise his brother, Toph, after their parent's death.  Since Eggers is only in his twenties, he finds it difficult to balance acting like both a brother and a parent.  He is thrust into this responsibiilty- attending parent teacher conferences, cooking dinner, and staying home from normal "twenty-something" activities to look after the little brother who he adores.  I look to my own family and realize - I couldn't do it.  I love my parents and can't imagine losing them.  They support me in everything I do and are always there when I need them.  I like to think I'm mature, but I am in no ways capaple of managing my life without them in it.  Then, I try imagine adding the responsibility of looking after my little sister.  My goodness.  My baby sister -  she is a handful.  She is only a few years younger than I, which could explain our somewhat difficult relationship.  I love her dearly and would stand in the way of any jerk who wanted to hurt her, but as for taking responsibility for that girl?  No thanks.  We are just too different to allow any relationship similar to that of the author and his little brother.  I admire Eggers for the work he did to hold his family together because it is far outside my comfort zone.  At the point I am at in the book, Toph seems happy and loved - a miracle considering he lost both parents in a few months.  Right now, I am thankful that I've got a close knit, if somewhat strange, family who will always be there for me.  The small squables I have with them seem unimportant when I look to Egger's family - broken, but still there for eachother.  I hope that, one day, I can show that kind of commitment to my own family.