Memories

Memories

1. Remembering playing Truth or Dare with you, S---, and A--- when we were teenagers. You knew I liked S---, but for whatever reason I wouldn't make a move (not like me at all). So you dared him to kiss me, and I was about to protest until S--- said no. "What do you mean, no?!" I asked him. Couldn't believe he didn't want to kiss me. (Confidence much? lol). You thought that was the funniest thing ever. You kept pushing us until finally S--- came around the corner with me and admitted that he had never kissed a girl. I gave him his first kiss (then he told everyone about it), we started a drama-filled on-again, off-again dating ritual, and you two started a friendship that outlasted our fickle romance.

2. I was feeling sorry for myself because I couldn't find a man who appreciated my abundant curves and my feisty personality. Lol. You told me that it was creepy to say so, but you would marry me in second if I weren't your sister, that I was a quality woman and any man would be lucky to have me. Normally I would dismiss this as your familial duty to blow smoke, but something about how you said it made me believe you. It reminded me that I am looking for a man with qualities like yours: a big heart, kindness, compassion, and a good sense of humor.

3. The scar on your hand: We were making lighter smileys, because teenagers get bored and do idiotic things. I called you a wuss (maybe something worse, can't remember), because you only lit the lighter for a few seconds. So you lit the flame for a full two minutes, held it to your hand for five, and ended up with a massive scar. After M--- was born, you tattooed your wife's and son's names with your initials around the scar. I always felt a little bit like I was part of your little family, since that scar was because of me. I miss that scar.

4. What was that guy's name that I hated? I don't remember, but you told him the reason I was so mean to him was that I secretly liked him, and that he should come up to me and put his arm around around me and try to talk his game to me, and I would warm up to him. He did, and I almost ripped his arm out of the socket. You sat on the patio and laughed your head off at him. What a mean girl I was. But that was kinda mean of you, too; you could have gotten that poor boy seriously hurt. Lol.

5. You thought you could beat me up when you were thirteen. Nope. Tried again when you were fourteen. Still nope. Two years is a lot of experience, I don't care if I am a girl. By the time you probably could have taken me, you realized you shouldn't be fighting with your sister. Not that I didn't deserve it sometimes. I miss fighting with you.

6. Super Mario Bros 3. I beat the game first.

7. Playing 'steam roller' when we were little, rolling over each other on the bed like little wild animals. Sometimes the game ended in a fistfight, but usually it was ridiculously fun.

8. Going to the movies with you. Neither you nor Mom ever knew how to whisper, and you have a deep voice that carries. I hated when you guys would talk in the movies. I wanna go to a movie with you again. You can talk as loud as you want.

9. Last time we talked on the phone (and argued, too) and you told me how you would never, ever say something behind someone's back that you wouldn't say to their face. I know you wouldn't.

10. Behind the train tracks over by the B&B motel with A--- and W--- (remember him? Gross). We got into some mischief (you know what I'm talking about). That guy came out of the wrecking yard and chased us all off.

11. Playing Spades in our room when that guy came over and was trying to talk to me by writing me notes. He told me after I kicked your butt in Spades we should go somewhere alone. I turned him down, then I showed you the notes we were writing back and forth. You laughed, said who was he trying to play? I know, right? I am the Ice Maiden. (Oh, and I kicked your butt in Spades.)

12. Playing dominoes with T--- and H---. We had the sibling mind meld thing going; nobody could beat us. Remember when T--- broke the table? Lol.

13. Wrestling with you and S--- and A--- in the back room at the house on 26th Drive, all of us throwing each other around. Someone's foot hit the ceiling fan and almost broke it, and Mom came in yelling.

14. Road trip to CA to visit M---. We're all teasing each other on the way there, so excited to be going.

15. I was telling you how I owed all of my accomplishments in life to Jehovah, and you, although possessing a great deal of conviction that God is alive and present, got stern with me and demanded that I give myself some credit for my hard work. You thought I was diminishing myself by attributing my success solely to a blessing from above. You were always so proud of me.

16. We saw Inception with M--- at the theater on Bell. It was awesome, and we talked about the mental gymnastics for a while after. I still have the emails we exchanged wherein we worked out the logistics of who was meeting who where, and whether we were gonna eat first or eat together.

17. Truth or Dare, like every single night, with A--, Sh---, and you. I always try to forget the butter, but it's the first thing I think of. That was a punk move, by the way. But I got you back; you looked so pretty. Remember? Jerk. ♥

18. Jack in the Box. The only one of us who never worked there was L---. You made it almost two days. Longer than I thought you'd last. :-)

19. Sugar bread. Remember that? Lol.

20. Picking you up for the last time. You were wearing all black.

21. Making you a playlist of my music. You were always stuck listening to my feminist soundtrack when you rode in my car...but you actually kinda liked it. Having three sisters sort of makes a guy a little bit of a feminist at heart, right? My sensitive little brother. ♥

22. Writing on the bedroom wall with permanent marker, then trying to cover it with blue paint. Six coats and you could still see the naughty words. Idiots. Lol.

23. I ate lettuce and tomato seeds for six months and lost 30 pounds. You stopped drinking soda for three months and lost 60 lbs. Jerk. ♥

24. You and A---. Then you and B---. Then you and J---. Then you and S---. Sometimes I wondered if the only reason girls ever talked to me was to get to you.

25. Me, you and S-- sitting on your bed, writing poetry. She doodled a weird-looking turtle on her paper, and wrote some fatalistic 'life is pain' thing. You wrote about ups and downs, and it was pretty impressive. I can't remember what I wrote; probably, given the time frame, some sappy crap about breaking up with J---. Puke. Lol.

26. Mom found that stupid book, and I told her not to read it. She did (of course) and called me all mad, and you called me after. "You *told* her not to read it," you said. Yeah, I did. Lol.

27. Trying to convince you of anything, at all, ever. You were so stubborn. If you weren't already partially on board, you weren't coming on. But you could sell anyone anything if you talked to them long enough. My brother the stubborn salesman.

28. That game we played in the pool where we went under water and came up as different people. We had this whole other universe that we entered underwater. I never told you that I taught the game to K--- and she would play it with me when you were at your dad's; as far as you were concerned, I was too old for that sort of fantasy, and I was doing you a favor by condescending to play it with you.

29. Arguing with you on iChat for like fifteen minutes before I realized that you were kinda drunk and it was really pointless to reason with you. I switched to smile-and-nod mode, and you busted me. "I'm not that drunk, *W---*," you said. "Don't patronize me. *BURP*" And there went the argument. Laughing was more productive, anyway.

30. In the hospital with you after a really stupid stunt we pulled. You were far worse off than me; I was so scared you would never be the same again. Maybe you weren't; moments like those change people. It certainly changed me.

31. Out to eat, people assuming you're my date. I'm like, hello? Look at us. We quite clearly share DNA.

32. Grand Canyon. I'm trying to get one of those transcendent shots of nature's majesty, and I keep having to start over because you won't stop talking. I want a quiet video of beauty, maybe just the sound of wind or bird calls, and instead I get you saying, "Did you get it?" Turns out I got what I needed, after all.

33. Planning a missionary trip with you someday when you got things situated. We were going to go to South America somewhere.

34. Babysitting on New Year's and coming home to bust you. You know what you did.

35. Playing 21 with E--- and that weird guy in the corner apartment. Did mom ever know we went up there? If so, what was she *thinking*!?

36. Food fight on Thanksgiving. I dint think we ever got all of the mashed potatoes off the ceiling.

37. Visiting you and S--- in California. We went to rent movies somewhere, and we listened to Ojis Asi a hundred times because I had just heard it for the first time and I was obsessed a little. I took pictures of M--- on the couch. Don't know where they got to...

38. Debating just about anything with you. We liked to sharpen each others' intellects. You made me work for it, that's for sure.

39. A fistfight over ice cream and $3.00. We were both wrong.