Everyone I know is busy preparing for the annual Super Bowl blowout, stocking up on beer and browsing through chili recipes. Me, I'm wondering where the elder Harbaughs will sit to watch their sons coach against each other.
If you're a parent with more than one child, you know all too well the dilemma facing Jack and Jacqueline Harbaugh.Elder son John coaches the Baltimore Ravens. Brother Jim, younger by a mere 15 months, heads up the San Francisco 49ers. Their meeting Sunday in New Orleans will mark the first Super Bowl that pits siblings as head coaches.The NFL, of course, loves the storyline. It's a spinmeister's dream. For the elder Harbaughs, not so much. Whatever they say, however they cheer, the parents run the risk of appearing to favor one son over the other.Sound familiar?Sibling rivalry: It's as old as Cain and Abel. I can't think of a family that hasn't weathered a form of it. Days before the AFC and NFC title games, a good friend recounted how one of her daughters had been vociferously complaining that my friend babysat one set of grandchildren more than the other. While it was technically true, my friend pointed out that one child lives in her ZIP code while the other had moved two counties over. This perceived unfairness was simply a result of geography.She had no need to explain, but self-doubt and second-guessing are part and parcel of parenting.I've long boasted that I don't treat my five children equally. Instead, I handle them equitably. Sometimes this works, and sometimes ... sometimes I can hear the grumbling innuendos loud and clear.The Harbaughs are no strangers to public competition. Jim and John last squared off in 2011 at a Thanksgiving Day game. The Ravens won. This time around, the 49ers are said to be the favorites -- with the betting public, that is.But the point spread will hardly matter to the Harbaugh parents, who surely will be watching the game with more than their share of anxiety. Their every cheer, fist pump, grimace will be scrutinized by millions.Can you imagine the razzing at the next family reunion?Ana Veciana-Suarez's column appears Sunday.Write to her at The Miami Herald, One Herald Plaza,Miami FL 33132, or send email to aveciana@herald.comMcClatchy News Service
Editor's note
Award-winning journalist, author and WomanSage founder Jane Glenn Haas, whose "Our Time" column ran in this spot each Sunday, died Jan. 23 from complications following a stroke. She was 75. Her columns, written for the Orange County Register, were distributed to more than 300 other newspapers nationally. Haas' last column in the Register was about breaking her arm. She fell in her home on Christmas Day and remained on the floor for 10 hours until a friend found her. In typical Haas fashion, she wrote about the incident with humor and candor, explaining what she could have done to prevent it. Her family requests that contributions be sent to: WomanSage, 5319 University Drive, Suite 136, Irvine, CA 92612. Messages to her family should be sent to 52 Seton Road, Irvine, CA 92612.
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