Celebrate Sibs!

Happy Brothers and Sisters Day! Yes, according to various internet sources, today is the day to celebrate those extra-special folks who swim in your gene pool. Mind you, the fun and festivities of Brothers and Sisters Day should NOT be confused with National Siblings Day. That took place on April 10^th, and was totally and completely different…

Duh!

(Now there’s a brother/sister response that’s sure to be uttered by billions across the globe today.)

Anyway, if you are lucky enough to have a brother or sister, you know what an important role they play in your life.

I mean, who else is going to help you learn the fine art of fiction at such an early age?

For example, one guy I know (who chooses to remain anonymous) was a child prodigy in wall art – but always signed his masterpieces with his brother’s initials.

When I was young, my siblings definitely helped make storytelling second nature to me. My little sister (who followed me EVERYWHERE) would fall for the Sesame Street ditch every single time. All I had to do was say, “Hey, did you know that Sesame Street is on right now?” and she would sprint for home – only to find that Grover had been preempted by The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour.

I also learned the “Don’t Tell” part of “Show Don’t Tell”, thanks to my little brother. For example, I could (theoretically, of course) pull all the leaves off of a houseplant or (maybe) toss a few rocks into the gas tank of the family car, and get away with it – all I had to do was wait him out during the parental interrogation lineup. Eventually the little guy would crack – confessing to the entire mess, even if he had actually been 5 miles away helping little old ladies cross the street at the time of the crime.

Yeah, I’m pretty sure that my siblings would agree with Charles Schulz, who once said, “Big sisters are the crab grass in the lawn of life.”

And yeah – I still feel a little guilty about my crabby and conniving younger self.

So, I guess I’ll use this day to apologize.

Sorry, Sibs –

But I got here first.

So there.

PROMPT: If you’ve got siblings, you’ve got stories! Today take a trip down memory lane and gather a few. If you’re an only child, I suggest that you adopt someone for a few hours. Then eat all of their chocolate chip cookies… and gloat about it. Nothing else says “I love you” in quite the same way.