My post for the day is inspired by my "little" brother. I say that in quotes as he is actually 19 and a freshman in college. He's probably going to be highly offended by this post seeing as how he routinely tells me he doesn't like me, calls me a butthead, blah, blah, blah but I really don't care. Payback's a bitch, just like me.
When I was 14, I managed to get myself a little brother. In addition to the one I already had. I distinctly remember when my mother told us she was pregnant. We were at some restaurant in Albert Lea for Mother's day and I'm pretty sure it was my grandma who made some comment (jokingly) about my mom being pregnant, to which she confirmed said joke. At the time I was really excited. And then my friends and classmates found out. Let me tell you, there's nothing quite as exciting as having your classmates remind you that your parents still have sex. Plus it's annoying when strangers at the mall give you dirty looks because they think the baby in the car seat is yours.
Anywhoozles, I was a freshman in high school when baby Jared was born. I was convinced he was a girl (and still may be) and ended up losing a bet to my grandma. I lost myself a hard earned dollar that October day. I was basically like a second mother to this child, which is why I'm convinced he and I don't get along. That and he's a surly teenager.
Jared and I had a lot of fun when he was little. His favorite thing at the age of two was to ride this stupid bouncy horse for hours on end while watching Disney movies. I didn't have a lot of time with Jared though as he was almost 4 when I left for college. That didn't mean we didn't hang out, though. My friend Ang and I used to take him to the dorms and let him hang out with with us in the guys dorm. Or take him trick or treating so we had an excuse to get candy.
As we've gotten older, we've definitely drifted apart, which is not unexpected. Jared was pretty much raised an only child. I don't expect us to be best friends who share secrets but it would be nice to be acknowledged as someone he likes.
It's annoying that I typically only get mean comments, mostly on my Facebook page where everyone can read them. It's frustrating that we always have to force him to hang out with us when we do family things. It's incredibly sad that he doesn't acknowledge his nephews. When Rowan was born, my mom had to threaten to take away his video game systems just to get him to come to the NICU and hold Rowan. I can deal with him but poor Rowan just wants to play with Uncle Jerry and he won't give him the time of day. I realize I'm not painting a pretty picture of my brother but then again, who really looks beautiful when you lay it all out?
Life's too short as Boston has reminded us. So I'm letting my frustrations and annoyance and sadness go.
So what's the moral of this story? Well, I'm not really sure. All I know is that there are days that I would love to punch my brother in the throat because he's decided that it's ok to be an ass for no reason. Like when he posts on my facebook page as a potential blog topic: "How much of a butthead I am". And there are days where he and I can have so much fun together, mostly when the subject revolves around cats. Don't get me wrong...I do love my brother. I just hope that some day when he's a grown up, he remembers that.
