A Couple of Nuts From the Family Tree

Angie was in trouble at school.

This was big.  Mom and dad were really upset.

It never happened liked this... I was the one always in trouble, always living up to that 'black sheep' title.

My face was bare, stoic even, but inside I felt an acute moment of sibling rivalry at its finest.

Finally!  She could see what it felt like for once to not be the 'good' one!

I was going to milk this situation for all it was worth.

What had she done?  My mind was racing.  Did she talk back to her teacher? Or get caught smoking?  Or maybe even cheated?

No, she would never cheat or smoke.  But it had to be something REALLY big!  

I bet she was going to have to do all her chores and mine for punishment.  And maybe even for a month!  Ha!  I was going to be laughing from the couch as she cleaned the bathroom and vacuumed the stairs and washed the dishes.  

Not to mention the grounding!  She would be missing The Cosby Show forever!  And no sleepovers.  And no movies... she was going to be jealous of me for once!!!

I sat in my room and pretended to be reading as my mom, dad, and Angie walked in the door.  She went straight to her room, and my parents went upstairs.

Being the good daughter had its duty's you know... I had better go and see how my parents were doing... and maybe pump them for info at the same time.

"Is everything OK?" I asked quietly.

"Yes, Amanda."

"So, what happened?"

"Nothing, just go back to your room."

Hum.  This was going to be tougher then I thought.

"Well, is Angie OK?  I am just concerned."

"She's fine."

My dad gave me a look and I knew it was now or never.

"Well, is she grounded?"

"Yes Amanda.  Your sister is grounded.  She is in big trouble and will be losing lots of privileges for awhile.  Are you happy now?"

Yes, yes I am.  I was smart enough to not put an actual smile on my face, but inside I was tickled pink.  I knew she wasn't perfect!  

As I turned to go back to my room I asked almost as an afterthought, "What did she do?"

My parents both sighed.

"She hit a boy.  Because he called you a bad name."

Frozen in my tracks, tears sprang to my eyes, and emotions I didnt even know I had suddenly overwhelmed me.

"Me?"

"Yes Amanda, she was defending you."

 
(me and my sister) 

***

I have one sibling.  My sister.  

We are less then two years apart in age, and growing up were often bickering and 'borrowing' each others clothes and ruthlessly competing for mom and dads attention.

But there was always more there.  The unspoken bond of sisterhood often surpassed the worldly perception of our relationship.  

To the outside world we all grow old.  But not to brothers and sisters.  We know each other as we always were.  We know each other's hearts.  We share private family jokes.  We remember family feuds and secrets, family griefs and joys.  We live outside the touch of time.  

~Clara Ortega

How about you?  Do you have a sister?  Do you have a favorite memory of her growing up?

Comments

[Kristin]

I have 2 sisters. One of them was born when I was 13 and the other wasn't born until I was 21! We have an interesting relationship, simply because of our age difference. My youngest sister is only 20 months older than my son and is my daughter's best friend.

[Cathy @ NurtureStore]

A great post Amanda. I love seeing the sisterly bond between my two girls. Last week a child was mean to my youngest. Big was straight there to look after her and proclaimed 'No-one hurts my little sister and gets away with it!'. It's good as a mother to know your kids will look out for each other.

[angie]

i cant believe you remembered that....brought a tear to my eye to see you talk about it. i love you.

[Amanda Rettke]

Love you too. :)

[Renee (Kudos Kitchen)]

Amanda, this brought tears to my eyes. You write so beautifully that it brought me right into the room with you while you were talking to your mom and dad. I surely didn't see that coming but I couldn't be happier that it did. You and your sister are so fortunate to have each other and to be young again in each others eyes. Priceless. BTW though, I certainly can not imagine you being the black sheep of any family. Writers embelishment I suppose :)

[Paula]

What a beautiful memory and such a well-written re-collection of it. There is a special bond between sisters. I have five sisters and love and admire each of them. We all have our own unique personalities, talents, likes, dislikes but we all share one thing in common. Our love for one another and family.

[Renee]

Great memory. I always wanted a sister...Instead I had brothers who did that for me...which I feel they kinda owed me after being so mean to me in other ways :)

[Joy]

I have 3 sisters and believe me I KNOW what its like to have your sisters be you bestest friends and biggest competition! I often feel sad that my little girl won't have that kind of relationships, only brothers. I'm so thankful for my sisters and even though we fought like crazy growing up, they are my bestest friends now and I talk to them every day. I can't imagine what I'd do with them. Thank you for reminding me how blessed I am to have such special friends :)

[Londa]

Oh, what a special memory! Your comments to each other got me all choked up! I have one older sister--9 years older! I love that we're close, have never had a fight, and now have children very close in age! My sister has always been my biggest encourager, confidant, and best friend! My favorite thing about her (other than that she always gets call my mom, hehe!) is that I have always been able to go to her for advice, support, and unconditional love! I better call and tell her those things! :)

[Nellie]

I absolutely loved this post and it brought tears to my eyes just thinking about how my younger sister of 4 years would be exactly like your sister! I love and adore my sister and my two older brothers. Life was never just ordinary and I am so lucky that it was truly extraordinary and blessed to have such wonderful, amazing parents! It sounds to me that you have the same thing - blessings abound amongst family big or small!

[Joy Ellis]

No sisters, but I had 3 brothers. Two who were older than me by 13 and 10 years and one brother who was 19 months younger than me. My younger brother and I were very close. Actually still are close. We would always try to kill one another, but if you ever messed with him, I would hurt you. He would do the same. I love him so much! We had some great times together. Thanks for bringing up some great memories!

[Jessica @ How Sweet]

I always wished I had a sister. I have 2 brothers. We are super close, but I'm sure it's nothing like having a sister.

[Lorie]

What a beautiful picture of the two of you. I have two older sisters. My husband has three younger sisters, so I am lucky to have three sister-in-laws too. I love sisters!!

[InspiredDreamer]

So sweet! I do love how you thought the tables had turned and in the end you learned a lesson too. :) Hooray for sisters!

[Gianna]

I LOVE this post! Wasn't it just yesterday we were talking about how siblings can argue all they want, but YOU better not fight or the grizzly bear will come out!

[Margaret]

I have two sisters...and two brothers. My favorite memories are when we were a little older, in our 20's, because it was then I was learning to appreciate them.

[The Lumberjack's Wife]

I have a sister and a brother with many memories to share that might just take too much to post!
loved your story and the picture!

[Amy]

What a wonderful post, and great photo of you two - it brought tears to my eyes.
I have a sister who is 10 years younger than me, so we weren't super close growing up, but now that we're both grown and have children/families of our own, we are closer than ever. Unfortunately she lives almost 1 1/2 hours away, but we still talk regularly.
She is so supportive and loving. I couldn't ask for a better sister to me!!

[Erica B.]

The bond between sisters is one of the greatest. It took awhile and growth, but my younger sisters are my very best friends. I know for anything I can always count on them!!!

[janmary, n ireland]

Lovely memory of your sis!

Thanks for your concern - sorry to alarm you.

I am safe and well at home in Ireland :) - it was a nasty hoaxer who had taken over my email. Lovely to know you care :)

[Elizabeth]

What a sweet story! My sister is 4 years older than me, and she was the one always getting in trouble, while I was the "good one." That certainly will put a wedge between siblings, but fortunately now we are the best of friends!! I love my sister!

[Maranda]

OMG this post was amazing! I laughed and yes...I even got teary eyed! How sweet!!! I have 2 sisters (I'm in the middle). I'm closer to my older sister. We talk every day. I was definitely always the good one...

[Ruth]

Nope, no brother, no sister. Just me and my cousins growing up. But oh the things we did! We could have been counted as siblings :)

[Karen@SurvivingMotherhood]

In the midst of hearing my children bicker, this was such an encouraging post to read. Thank you!
Seriously, you were *this close* to getting a tear out of me. ;)

[Dea]

This post was awesome to read. Such a great story and such a great memory to have.

I have a brother, sister, and a best friend whose like a sister. I'm pretty lucky. None of them have hit a boy for me but I do know they would do anything for me =]

Really- this post is just so sweet!

[bridget {bake at 350}]

Love this post!

My sister and I are over 5 years apart and I wasn't exactly thrilled to have my ONLY CHILD status stolen from me! ;) We fought a lot growing up, but we weren't allowed to call each other "stupid" or "dumb" or to say "shut up." So it goes without saying that we weren't allowed to hit each other, either.

One day, we were in the kitchen with my mom fighting about something and both REALLY mad (I have NO idea why). I opened the freezer, grabbed a frozen loaf of bread and bonked her with it. She, in turn, grabbed a squeeze bottle of ketchup and I saw it pointing straight at the top of my head. It was like slow motion, I tipped it back just as she was squeezing and HER hair got doused in ketchup.

To be honest, it was TOTALLY AWESOME! ;)

[carma]

I have a sister (older by less than 2 years) but we are two incredibly different people and are not close. Enjoy this wonderful bond that you have with your's.

[Lisa]

My sister is my best friend. We are 20 months apart, I'm the younger one. We beat the tar out of each other growing up. She nearly took out a boy at the school bus stop for throwing a rock at my ankle. She nearly took me out one morning because I had a teddy bear that would record your voice and play it back, so I took it outside, screamed as loud as I could while recording, then played it back in my sisters ear while she was sleeping. We come from 2 of the most dysfunctional parents that could possibly be, and yet we turned out normal and sane, which is no small feat if you knew where we came from. We both have made huge mistakes in life. We both have made excellent choices in life. She is, besides my own two kids, the only other person on this planet that I would willingly give my life for.

[Bethany]

Aw, how sweet~ it's fun to read posts like this. However..lol. I have four sisters and one of them is only 12 months younger than me. I wish we were closer!