don't go the thanksgiving table without this little baby. one of our old family traditions was sending pea missiles at the thanksgiving table, usually instigated by my brother, tommy aka "perfect" as mom refers to him. needless to say, mom nor dad was particularly impressed by this tradition, especially when grandma was in attendance. there was a certain skill to getting the proper arc & the aim just right. too much of a reaction from the intended target usually resulted in a rebuke by the parental units, while the true culprit grinned shamelessly. if we had these babies at the table, no telling how far we could have gotten those peas. & a tool like this would make it possible to utilize other objects that a spoon did not handle well because they needed more torque- cranberries, a whole slice of jellied cranberry, yams, dinner rolls- oh my- the possibilities.
i would love to say that we have grown up & matured & no longer engage in such shenanigans. i would like to... but the truth is it has been a while since we've had thanksgiving dinner together as a family- all of us together. i harbor no illusions that such behavior would be extinguished. we have not adequately matured & being in the presence of one another, all three of us (tommy, kathy & i) only results in us growing down rapidly. i hope we never grow up. there isn't a day that goes by that i don't feel very lucky to have the siblings that i do & to enjoy them so much. i always have fun with my brother & sister. & we have all married well & enjoy our partners as well. it doesn't get much better than that, does it?!
when i was younger, i would sometimes envy my friends who were only children because they seemed to get more of everything. they didn't have to bother with sharing rooms, or toys, or games, or being teased by siblings, or dodging flaming arrows, or having their toothbrushes dropped in the toilet... you get the idea. now i think i am lucky that i am not an only.
this is one of my favorite quotes about brothers & sisters-
"To the outside world we all grow old. But not to brothers & sisters. We know each other as we always were. We know each other's hearts. We share private family jokes. We remember family feuds & secrets, family griefs & joys. We live outside the touch of time."
- Claire Ortega
& for me, this is true. when i'm with tommy (aka perfect) & kathy, we are outside the touch of time. & we always will be.
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