Watching you laugh when you were a toddler. Being the only one in the family who understood
your language. Watching you demolish the newspaper until you were covered in newsprint.
Sheryl and I dressing you up as "Carla." Beads, clip-on earrings, dress, make-up. Why did you never resist us?
Having you call home when you were at Olympics of the Mind, and having your team sing "Happy Birthday" to me.
The summer you were 13. Taking you to high rock (...sorry about the naked people). Getting you to jump first off the unfamiliar cliff (sheesh...sorry about that, too. glad you're not paralyzed).
Same summer. Taking you to the fish ladder and shouting back and forth in the tunnel to be sure you hadn't drowned. Getting mad at mom because she wanted you home by a certain time. (What's wrong with hanging out all night with college kids???)
Playing ping-pong and pool at the Institute.
Churnin' butter.
Pulling into a McDonald's on a road trip, bleary-eyed and hungry. You were a teenager. You walked up to the counter and the McDonald's worker just stared at you. You waited for awhile, then asked "shouldn't you be taking charge of this conversation?"
Mountain biking with you and Mike in Brandis Woods. Cleaning mud off the bikes after.
You grabbing the squeegee from me at the gas station, because I was doing it all wrong. Being genuinely impressed by your window-washing skills.
Taking you to the M.T.C. (almost as good as picking you up 2 years later).
Talking about books. And libraries. And books about libraries. Talking about religion, history, philosophy, alchemy...developing ESP...(insert Twilight Zone music).
Maintaining stoic faces on the roller coasters at
Seeing my very first nutria, ugly as sin, on the way home from the Cure concert in
Speaking of
Sharing, more-or-less, the same taste in music.
Meeting Velvet at the Chinese buffet.
Seeing you baptize Velvet.
Seeing you marry Velvet...and watching Berkeley-the-ring-bearer do the potty dance throughout the ceremony. Seeing you dance with Mom at the wedding.
Seeing you and Velvet sealed a few months later.
Buying computers from you and torturing you with expectations of life-long technical support.
Getting life-long technical support.
Asking you questions and having you answer in a humble fashion, embarrassed that you know more than me, about just about everything. Watching you love your little girls.
Playing Settlers with Carl-and-Velvet rules.
Going to
13 comments:
I loved reading this. I love reading anything you right though so that's not surprising. My favorite laugh out loud moment was "shouldn't you be taking control of this conversation?" That is hilarious.
sounds like you had so great growing up memories! i wish i could remember mine in such good detail as you do! i too loved the comment about mcdonald's! your brother sounds like a riot!
you guys play settlers? we have been addicted for the last few months having game nights 2 or 3 times a month. always looking for new people to play with!
High rock fell into the river, so we'll never be able to recreate that memory if we want to, or have our kids do it. But we could have them jump off medium rock at high rock, which is probably safer. I wonder if they have sealed of the fish ladder, you never did take me to slick rock, so we'll need to take our kids there some day.
I wish I had a younger bro. Such fun memories!
this was great! happy happies carl!
one of my favorite carl stories is about him at 17 or so riding an ancient trek down a really steep trail way faster than i dared go.
I wondered where Carl learned to embrace the off-beat. Now I know. I'm not old enough to have my little brother turn 30!
We are so lucky to have such cool little brothers. I loved reading about all your memories and fun things you two did together. Thanks for sharing-though I'm sure it was mostly for Carl-it's fun for the rest of us as well!
Wow Brenda, what a great list. It makes me nostalgic for all my sibs. Maybe I'll make my top 30 lists for all their birthdays.
I would love to see you with your "stoic face" on riding a roller coaster. That's a great list.
Carl tells me you can find pictures people have done on rollercoasters where they look engrossed in a chess game, but the pieces are glued down. That's even better than our stoic faces.
Brenda, I just used your blog as the energizing soundtrack to a major housecleaning blitz--so thanks! Also, I HIGHLY recommend reading your kids Little House on the Prairie. We read Little House in the Big Woods, Little House on the Prairie, and Farmer Boy last year. The kids were entranced from the first sentences. The chapter on Christmas is now required reading every year--the girls are thrilled to each get their own tin cup so they no longer have to share one cup. Pa Ingalls is the world's biggest stud. Little kids love the story. Bigger kids love the explanations on how things worked and how Pa built things. The kids learn a lot about pioneer life and American history. I really think everyone should read them.
I don't know your bro, but he sounds very cool! It was so much fun to read about all of your crazy growing up adventures;0)The McDonalds comment was my favorite. Crack me up!
I still have some of that root beer in the trunk of the old Jag. Good times, you have definitely have one strange brother!!!(and probably more?)
Post a Comment