I was the youngest of three boys. Having two older brothers created a natural security around me. I had protection from bullies, girls that were bigger than me, and snakes. Of course, when they became bored, they found other ways of keeping their interests alive. Sometimes those activities were a bit on the dangerous side. I was always an object of experimentation in their eyes. “Hey, look at that strange looking bug on the sidewalk. I wonder what would happen if we put it in Dwayne’s pants?” or “I’ll give you a dollar if you eat it”. We always had ways of pulling tricks on each other. I guess you could say we were typical youngons.
Poor mom. Energy + Motivation + Immaturity can equal Emergency room.
The middle brother in my family was particularly courageous. I’m not sure if he was feeling a little hefty in his britches, or if he was just bored one evening. In any event, he was attempting to add a new hole to one of his belts using his brand new pocket knife. One thing led to another, and before he was finished, a big chunk of his finger had managed to get in the way of the process and ended up on the floor next to him and myself. At this point, he calmly said to me, “Why don’t you go see if mom is available, please”.
In this case, Energy + Motivation + 2 dollar pocket knife = Emergency Room.
Yes, those were fun years. We are all grown up now, and have families of our own. I am grateful to have had older brothers to guide me along when I was young. I look up to them in many ways. Despite the experimentation, they took care of me in many ways. I sometimes wonder how life would have been as an only child. In what ways would I be different?
The answer to that question will never be known, but I do know this- It’s good to have people on your side, and it’s good to have family that you can count on in a time of crisis.