Little Brother!

Watching her get ready for the day, nothing to do but play outside and make up dance moves to 'Ice Ice Baby' with the next door neighbors' oldest daughter. In which by the way was their biggest achievement on the walkway of our turquoise trimmed vanilla bean brick house in the summer of 1990. Dad I think was at work or possibly refereeing at a volleyball tournament somewhere in small town near us. Mom was in the kitchen listening to the bubble screened television, wooden frame with doors elegantly hiding 3 knobs and 2 switches, bunny ears positioned just right to whatever show was capturing her attention from around the corner in the living room. She put her hair in a side pony tail with the excess T-shirt to match on the side with what I thought was a red plastic Ghostbusters emblem. Finally she's done! There I am watching from the floor, waiting to see what the next move was in her routine. No shirt, Taz shorts and of course no shoes, who even wears shoes in Texas....in the summer!? I 's remember asking her if she was going outside yet because I couldn't go outside until she did if it was too early. Just to annoy me she wasn't even close to being ready. Whatever. But just like the show I was saved by the bell! The doorbell rang, it was Marissa! The other star of the dance show.

We spent pretty much all day outside, water hose running for hydration here and there, mom telling us to water the St. Augustine before dad got home later, all my friends coming by and us trying every way to annoy my sister and seeing how high we could jump our bikes on the curbs of the driveway. Also, an aluminum bat makes a tennis ball fly a lot further than a tennis racket, pro tip. Randall, our other neighbor was a jerk today just like very other day. The typical beer belly, big arms and small legs dad with annoying kids who tattled on you for anything from not letting them play with us or us hitting them too hard when we played football in the yard. All in all a good summer day for us. We didn't have a group name or anything like that we just all knew to meet at the corner of Holiday and 88th every day, some walked, some biked, some got a pump on someone's bike, and of course the random Brink wanna be roller blading to the corner.

Sun started to drop and street lights came on and that meant get your butt home and better pray your mom or dad didn't come driving down the street looking for you. That was the worst! When that happened we did our best to lie and cover for each other but it didn't always work, usually but not always. I knew when the light came on 4 houses down across the street it was MY time to go on and head inside. Bikes in the garage and water hose rolled up, scratches and grass burns hitting full effect now. Only hope tomorrow is as good as today! Nobody tells you this as a kid but, you never know or even think "this is the last day we will all do this" thankfully that day wasn't the one. But it did happen and I can't even remotely remember when. I miss those days. But time for dinner then bed.

Again, watching her get ready for the day, same pony tail but without the side scrunch shirt thing going on. But, today we had something to do. What it was I have no clue, I never knew, I just remember I couldn't go outside today, which sucked because it was even hotter today! Waiting in mom's room she goes into the bathroom to get ready, I can still see the yellowish flower wall paper that covered the whole wall but the big mirror above the sink. Can't believe that was the height of interior decorating back then, I guess the same could be said for shiplap now. Not everyone's cup of tea but it's there. My sister comes into mom's room and there I go annoying her, I love her like crazy but I REALLY like to annoy her too. we start fighting and chasing each other through the house. Mom's muffled voice through the door "y'all better behave!" could be heard as we fun by the door on our way into her room again. Mind you my sister is 6 years older than me. I was a skinny 8 or 9 year old. NOW we decide to get into an ol fashioned "wrastlin" match on mom's bed. Great idea right? I'm jumping at her trying my best to knock her down, my sister easily knocking me away like Kong swatting those planes away. Until I have the super bright idea of "Let me grab her shirt and bring her down with me!". I line up my attack, jump and knocked down but I have a solid grip! I fall on my back to the fluffy bedspread pulling the back of her shirt as I land she comes falling too. My arm lands upright on the bed, elbow firmly placed on the bed to catch her full weight right on the palm of my hand. My palm nestles directly in the middle of her back, more secure than a gray bar Lego on another gray bar Lego you didn't mean to get stuck but it did. but unlike a Lego, the bones in my arm snap. I don't cry though, I know if I cry my sister will get in trouble first because she was supposed to be watching me and "knows better". I hold in the pain and the screams I wanted to let out as much as I could, she sits me up saying "shh shh don't cry mom will get mad, here put it on a pillow", I rest my arm on the pillow which felt like fire and I only know that because I may or may not have burned myself playing with fire before. I mean fire and gasoline, what's a better past time activity? She runs to get some ice in a plastic bag for me, I'm able to control the tears still and she sets the bag on my arm and again the rush of fire runs up my arm and back down to my finger tips. Yet I didn't break, my arm did but not me! After maybe 5 or 10 minutes, could've been longer mom comes out of the bathroom. Mom's superpower was to automatically know something is wrong even if she didn't SEE anything wrong. First question was "what happened?" I'm still sitting on the edge of the bed, arm under ice, on top of the pillow she sees me. I laugh as if I'm not hurt and ready to pass out. My sister next to me with some excuse I can't really hear but I know it's not even close to what happened. I get up and laugh and attempt to walk to my room, thinking my arm dangling isn't a big deal. I mean why would it be? Mom grabs my arm and I can't control THAT pain. I scream and cry this time. Letting out the secret we both tried to keep. Then starts the yelling at my sister and me and the panic of getting ready for a trip to the hospital....yay. I hate the hospital. I've been there before, and sadly but comically this trip wouldn't be the last.

I don't remember actually going to the hospital but I do remember being there, sitting in a room that was way too cold for my arm to feel like the fire has become hotter and now spread throughout my whole arm not just my forearm. The doctor talking to my mom telling her the process and all I see is this sword of a needle on the desk by a sink. Hmm, what's that for? I feel a hand on my chest as a nurse starts to lay me down, and another one, and my mom, my sister crying in the corner, not sure for me or from being in trouble, no time to think though because at that moment I found out what that mini sword was for. Me. Well my arm actually. I watched, because I had to I guess, the need go in one side of my wrist wiggle around and FIRE, further in and again FIRE, then out the other side! Thanks for the warning!

I guess I fell asleep or it's been so long I don't remember going home but I wake up on the couch in the living room, sweating from the cow hide floral print, and no not leather I swear someone killed a cow, painted flowers on his hide and wrapped the three seated couch in it and boom sold to my parents. Oh look a cast, but where was my sister? I missed her. Yea she almost mangled my arm but all I could think was I hope my parents weren't mad at her. Then I hear the deep rumble of dad's voice..... she's definitely in trouble. It was my fault though. I started messing with her, I chased her, I started wrestling on the bed with her. Mom and dad come into the living room and start yelling at me too, they're mad I get it. But do we still get to go on out trip?

We did, mom, dad, sister and me. We all had fun, the pools and water slides were great. Where was it? Don't remember, but we were happy, nobody was mad or in trouble, I was sporting a super cool black plastic trash bag over my cast which wasn't great for aerodynamics going down the slides but as long as my cast didn't get wet I could still swim! The occasional bump or hard landing did hurt still but at least we could play outside still. Even had the 2nd half of summer to go!