March 26, 2012

Fifty eight years ago my life as an spoiled rotten brat only child ended with the birth of my brother.  Oh I am sure it was a winter storm to end all storms and 50 below zero the day he was born.  I was too little to remember.  I was 2 1/2 years old. 

We lived at the farm, we had been there about 1 1/2 years.  Our parents were trying their hand at farming, we were poor.   My brother was a sickly colicky baby..always crying..our parents took turns walking the floor with him.  I had nothing to do with it.  He got ear infections really easy so he was supposed to wear a head covering all the time.

He lives far far away in Oregon now.  H.O.W.E.V.E.R. he still gives me a bad time.   He reads the local blog and sometimes leaves me detailed comments.

Recently I wrote a blog about life on the farm ( Wistful Wednesday 1953) and he left me a long comment.

“Nice memories, I remember you being in the house and ME having to go do chores, you had the advantage of being the “girl”. I also remember ME still having to do dishes after supper, I never did think THAT was fair.

You should have told the part where when you were two of petting the bull’s back legs while standing right behind it. Dad thought you were going to get kicked across the barn, and ran by and grabbed you before the bull kicked. Twas a very mean bull, you were lucky, I think that is why you had your own special pen made, just for you.

I remember, going down into the basement changing into “chore” clothes and then going out the barn, doing the chores and after making sure the boots were clean in the snow, going back to the basement after 2 hours of chores changing out of the “chore” clothes again in the basement.

Mom and Dad would on occasion let me off early if a special TV show was on like Disney’s Wonderful World of Color. Hard work, it didn’t harm me, but you always had the sweeter deal. I’ve often wondered how much easier life would have been for me if you had been a boy.”

A boy??   A BOY???  Turn out all these years he wanted an older brother to help him do chores instead of a bossy older sister.

Mom, Carey and Me  Summer of 1955

I wonder who he would have borrowed that scarf and that skirt from..??

I replied to him:

Possibly when you were a baby we both went to the barn..of course me being older and a GIRL and more responsible I would have taken very good care of you:)

I do not remember life without my brother and I know that he cannot remember life without me.  Now I know what I always suspected..he tried to turn me into a Tom Boy!  Happy Birthday Baby Brother:)