**The following post requires a caveat: It’s possible it’ll be my last post as I’m anticipating death threats from my sister who will invariably remember the following situations quite differently than I remember them. I’m sorry but names have not been changed to protect the innocent:
Siblings are a very tricky relationship. Frequently after a first child parents will say “I want Junior to have a brother or sister to grow up with”. Truth of the matter is Junior would probably be perfectly happy to have no such thing. After all, they have been the center of your attention, they don’t need some new baby to come in and challenge them for that title.
I grew up with a sister. Like with most siblings, sometimes it was a comfort and sometimes it was a challenge. With siblings looks can be deceiving. We are very different people, but when Sister started her Freshman year in High School people in the halls would say “Hi, Karen’s sister”. We grew accustomed to answering to each other’s name during those years. Later, on vacations or in clubs people would ask if we were twins. Sister was always kind enough to quickly let them know that I am, in fact, older.
When she was little I once talked Sister into eating poisonous berries off of a tree in the yard. I once offered to trim the ends of her hair. When I was done her beautiful waist length hair ended just past her shoulders.
Holiday time during my Freshman year in college, I was home from school and borrowed Mom’s new Thunderbird so Sister and I could go to the mall. Later that night Sister was in her room, door closed and shades down while I explained to Mom that her car was stolen…and then totaled. When my boyfriend was driving Sister and I home one night and got pulled over in our driveway (oops, flashing blue lights and all), guess who was distracting Mom in the back of the house – and who was in her room with the door shut and the shades drawn.
Eventually most siblings come to a place of (at least) detente. I used to keep an “emergency” $20 bill hidden in my purse. We worked at the same company for a short time after college. If Sister made last-minute plans she would send a friend from her office to mine: “Sister wants to know if she can borrow some money for tonight”. Me: “I only have about $4 on me”. Friend: “She said to tell you she’ll take your emergency $20”. At the end of the day, no one knows more about where you’re coming from than your sibling.
My boys are opposites. I’m not unhappy about this. I always say to them about the other “I already have one of him, you be you”. These boys do not look alike. One is taller and lean with blond wavy hair and blue eyes. The other is more substantial with thick dark hair and chocolate eyes with lashes I wish I still had. One could care less about school, the other’s class ranking wavers around the top 10 out of 600. One is athletic, the other (literally) walks into walls. One has a large circle of friends and acquaintances, the other prefers one or two at a time.
When Younger Son was a baby I got my first hint of how it was to be. Older Son said to me “Mom, I think you should take him back now, his Mother is probably looking for him”.
One time when Younger was a baby and Older a toddler, Younger was in the kitchen in his little swing. Older was in the kitchen as well, and I had stepped onto the back porch. I shut the sliding door and heard a clunk. The bar I keep in the track of the sliding door for safety had fallen down into place. I was locked outside. I knocked on the door and got Older’s attention. I pointed to the stick and yelled for him to pick it up. He waved. I tried a few times, then went to get my neighbor. She came over and when she stopped laughing, tried to help. Younger had started to cry and I was panicking. A few times we got Older to pick up the stick, but as soon as we lunged for the door he’d drop it back into place. Then Older walked away. And Younger stopped crying. Me: “Oh no, he’s killed him”. We grabbed the phone and, embarrassing or not, called Husband to come home from work. Of course literally 30 seconds before Husband walked in from the garage we got Older to get that stick out of the door. Husband found us standing in the house. Fortunately I didn’t have yet another thing to explain as Younger was alive (and asleep).
There was a time that I thought these two would never, I mean ever, get along. But it seems that they have already found some common ground. Clearly they are both trying to kill me.
Home-made
Blue Raspberry/Cherry
and Watermelon Rum
home-made Watermelon Rum
Watermelon Slushies
©www.BakingInATornado.com
Ingredients:
2½ cups (measure after blended) Fresh chopped watermelon
1½ cups Watermelon Rum (can use Watermelon Vodka)
1 cup Acai Mixed Berry juice (by V8)
Splash of Rose’s sweetened lime juice
Opt: simple syrup or sugar
Directions:
*Put fresh watermelon chunks into a blender. Blend until smooth.
*Add Acai Mixed berry juice, a splash of Rose’s lime juice and Watermelon Ru.m
*Opt: if your watermelon isn’t particularly sweet, you can add some simple syrup or sugar and blend again.
*Put into the freezer until it’s partially frozen.
NOTE: Jolly Rancher Vodka (I used Rum) recipe from mixthatdrink.com. Here’s a hint: Don’t mix blue raspberry and cherry together unless you really like the taste of cough syrup.
