I have 3 half brothers by my mother. They are 15, 14, and 12 years older than me. I hardly remember sharing the house with the youngest of the three, but they are all my brothers.
My maternal grandfather had at least 14 children (we're still trying to find paperwork to see if I have a full list). Some of them had passed away by the time my mother was born. She had 4 full siblings, and those are her brothers and sisters.
Last fall, we went to visit relatives after I started working on the family tree. It was then that I learned she has never thought of her half siblings as brothers and sisters. This seemed strange to me, considering my brothers. Of course, one of her half brothers was just 3 years younger than her mother, and we visited her half sister who is more than 30 years older than my mother.
My son has a step sister by my husband and 2 step sisters and 2 step brothers by his step mother. I don't consider my husband's daughter my step daughter because she's 6 months older than me. We've never met. As for his other step siblings, he knows them and has called them his brothers and sisters. I don't see it quite that way because they are at least very close to the same age as my ex.
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