Childrearing
The 10 Ways My Brother Proved Boys Are Gross And Evil
The Jaguar Under the Stairs
When we were younger—I was about 4–my siblings and I went to live in my grandparent’s attic (it was super cool, promise. None of that poison cookie mess.) The stairs to the attic had one of those broom closets underneath it, and my brother convinced me that a jaguar lived inside it. A jaguar that loved to eat little girls named Theresa. Sometimes he would hide in the closet and growl, and then laugh when I peed my pants.
Lester the Creepy Clown
My grandparents also had a super creepy crocheted clown with an unholy porcelain face that my brother nicknamed “Lester the Molester†when we were about 12 and 13. His favorite thing to do was to hide Lester in dark places where I was sure to find him, after which I may or may not have also peed my pants. It was nightmare fuel.
The Legend of Alphonse
All of my siblings moved away from home when I was about 6, and they split us into different homes. I lived across a small man-made pond from my brother, and our houseparents worked hard to keep us hanging out. One beautiful spring day, we were strolling around the pond when my brother launched into a story about Alphonse, the massive man-eating snapper that lived there. He convinced me to lean in to get a closer look, and then pushed me in. My hair smelled like duck dookins for a week, and I flipped out when my leg got tangled in some stringy algae.
Throwing Hot Water on My Bee Sting
We lived close to HersheyPark, and went a lot. One day, I got stung by a bee and at the first-aid station, my brother helpfully poured hot water on my sting. At the time it was “because it draws the stinger out†last night on the phone it was “because no one was paying attention to meâ€.
Breaking My Wrist Because Why Not
One day, my brother and I skipped a drug and alcohol awareness assembly to go drink goldschlager together, and we had to cross a field for some reason. He tripped me, and when I ran after him to retaliate, he ducked down in the fetal position, tripping me again. Boom. Broken. Also, detention when I got caught skipping.