So I was driving to the pet store to by a mouse for the Snakob and for some reason I was pondering the relationships I have with my brother and sister. I'm 10 years older than my brother and 12 years older than my sister, and for some reason I've always been much closer to the bro than the sis. And today I think I figured out why.
Well, when my brother came around I was always taking care of him, babysitting and toting him around town on the luggage rack of my bike. We went everywhere. I'd cart him to antique stores for old books and up to Shoney's (back when Shoney's was still in Fla) and to the library. Then my sister showed up. I can say she showed up because one day my mom called and said "I'm bringing home a baby that needs to stay with us for a few weeks" and then there was Jamie. So Jamie kinda disrupted the balance. I couldn't take them both on my bike, and the one (and only) time I put her on the rack she stuck her foot in the spokes of the back wheel and nearly ripped her leg off. So even though Ian was the middle child of the family, Jamie was kinda my middle child -- Ian was the first born, Jamie was the second, and my kids (whenever that happens) are the third birth.
Not that I don't love my sister. I do, fiercely. But she was always the opposite of my brother and I. We read, she was a cheerleader. We play video games, she text messages all the boys from school. And it's not just that. I've always identified with my brother. We have grown up conversations on the meaning of a comma. He gets my jokes. He doesn't need to be entertained. I didn't believe for a long time that there was anything "wrong" with him -- it didn't seem like there was anything different about him to me. He did terribly in school because he read though it all -- I did enough to get good grades but I was generally finishing my work in the first 5 minutes and then reading for the rest of the time. He missed 5 questions --5! on his FCAT last year. But he and I were always cut from the same mold. When we found out he had Asberger's a couple years ago everybody else was relieved to know what was "wrong" with him. I still didn't see anything wrong. So he doesn't like to talk to other people. So he will read Steinbeck and Vonagut and Hornby and Vowell and everything else he can pilfer from my library during classes instead of paying attention to the teacher -- his tests are always near perfect. He spends the night and we go book shopping and play pool and otherwise act like a couple of 60-year olds.
My sister keeps me young. I've been hanging out with her more often lately and I find that I like it. A lot. She's still a tomboy at heart; she's just a tomboy with boys and shoes and purses on the mind. I get to watch girlie movies like Chasing Liberty and Miss Congeniality with her (that no one else will watch with me). She comes geocaching with me and to events and is socal and cute and everyone loves her. I love her. She has to be entertained but she's easy -- take her to a shoestore or bowling and she's fine. Just keep reminding yourself not to spend too much money around her. She's good at spending money.
Well, when my brother came around I was always taking care of him, babysitting and toting him around town on the luggage rack of my bike. We went everywhere. I'd cart him to antique stores for old books and up to Shoney's (back when Shoney's was still in Fla) and to the library. Then my sister showed up. I can say she showed up because one day my mom called and said "I'm bringing home a baby that needs to stay with us for a few weeks" and then there was Jamie. So Jamie kinda disrupted the balance. I couldn't take them both on my bike, and the one (and only) time I put her on the rack she stuck her foot in the spokes of the back wheel and nearly ripped her leg off. So even though Ian was the middle child of the family, Jamie was kinda my middle child -- Ian was the first born, Jamie was the second, and my kids (whenever that happens) are the third birth.
Not that I don't love my sister. I do, fiercely. But she was always the opposite of my brother and I. We read, she was a cheerleader. We play video games, she text messages all the boys from school. And it's not just that. I've always identified with my brother. We have grown up conversations on the meaning of a comma. He gets my jokes. He doesn't need to be entertained. I didn't believe for a long time that there was anything "wrong" with him -- it didn't seem like there was anything different about him to me. He did terribly in school because he read though it all -- I did enough to get good grades but I was generally finishing my work in the first 5 minutes and then reading for the rest of the time. He missed 5 questions --5! on his FCAT last year. But he and I were always cut from the same mold. When we found out he had Asberger's a couple years ago everybody else was relieved to know what was "wrong" with him. I still didn't see anything wrong. So he doesn't like to talk to other people. So he will read Steinbeck and Vonagut and Hornby and Vowell and everything else he can pilfer from my library during classes instead of paying attention to the teacher -- his tests are always near perfect. He spends the night and we go book shopping and play pool and otherwise act like a couple of 60-year olds.
My sister keeps me young. I've been hanging out with her more often lately and I find that I like it. A lot. She's still a tomboy at heart; she's just a tomboy with boys and shoes and purses on the mind. I get to watch girlie movies like Chasing Liberty and Miss Congeniality with her (that no one else will watch with me). She comes geocaching with me and to events and is socal and cute and everyone loves her. I love her. She has to be entertained but she's easy -- take her to a shoestore or bowling and she's fine. Just keep reminding yourself not to spend too much money around her. She's good at spending money.
1 comment:
Nice post. I can understand where you are coming from. Maybe you could post more about your brother's condition so we can all know more about it. Or... I could just google it and read for myself.
Take care.
Post a Comment