Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Just Another Summer Day

Note: This week's Remembe(red) writing prompt is a photo(of a garden hose) to take you back in time. In 700 or fewer words, show us where your memory takes you. Remember that this image is merely inspiration. Your piece needn't have a hose in your piece, but we need to easily see how you were inspired by it.

Just as I thought that I would die of thirst, I saw it. Coiled on the patio in the back yard, the hose beckoned, an oasis in the desert.

I ran toward it, my little brother close behind. I got to the faucet first, and turned it on. My brother had picked up the other end of the hose and was about to drink.

"HEY!!!" I was outraged. By the Sacred Virtue of Birth Order, it was decreed that I always got to go first. Plus, like they said on tv, ladies were supposed to go first. I was the oldest(at five), I was a girl, so I went first.

Except that my brother didn't believe that. He believed that since HE was the youngest by two and a half years, the "adorable" baby of the family, he should go first. He also believed that I should just LET him go first, since he was the baby.

I could not allow this violation of All That Was Holy in my worldview to continue, so I did what any older sister would do: I tackled him. I took him out at the knees, and he let go of the hose as we both fell back into the grass. My brother did not take this punishment lightly--he fought back as fiercely as he could. We rolled around on the grass, yelling, the forgotten hose releasing all that cool, delicious water into the ground near us.

"WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING?!! My mother was suddenly hollering at us from the sliding glass door. We froze. "KNOCK IT OFF!!!"

There is nothing more powerful than the Fear of Mom, so of course we hopped right up, covered with grass stains. I ran over to the hose, suddenly thirstier than I had ever been before. I lean over the hose to take a drink.

"AND TURN OFF THAT HOSE!" My mother hollered.

I waited until she wasn't at the door anymore, then quickly took a drink and handed the hose to my brother. Then we ran back to our playing.

Note: This is a melding of every single summer day that my brother and I spent playing together. Yes, we actually did have fights like that, but we never actually ever hurt each other. Except once or twice. Maybe three times.

9 comments:

  1. Hello,
    I just wanted to let you know I gave you the Versatile blog award...please stop by and check it out....
    http://areyouamom.com/2011/my-first-blog-award/
    Thanks and have a great day!
    Maureen :)

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  2. Ooh, you are making me want to get my hose out...

    BTW, I have given you The Versatile Blogger Award.

    You can find it here: The Versatile Blogger...OMG, It's Me!

    Congrats!

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  3. I love the end about hurting each other. My two are close in age like that and I'm scared to death they are going to send one another to the hospital.

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  4. I love "By the Sacred Virtue of Birth Order"! This made me giggle, and I have fond memories of my own similar to this fight over the garden hose.

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  5. There is something uniquely delicious and refreshingly cold about water from the hose. As an older sister myself, I can definitely relate to the fury of the ridiculous little brother thoughts of breaking the "Sacred Virtue of Birth Order"! That is just about the one thing that would motivate me to come to blows!!

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  6. I tickled my brothers, that's how I got my way. I was a little brat.

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  7. I have an older brother and we fought like crazy when we were kids. Now he is wonderful, because I gave him nephews to play with. I enjoyed your blog and look forward to visiting again. Julie

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  8. "Sacred Virtue of Birth Order", this cracked me up! I was the youngest and my brother 2 years my senior, but I felt just like your little brother. But there was nothing better than drinking that cool clear water from the hose in summertime!

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  9. Oh my! The summer mash up defines sibling-hood, doesn't it?

    I loved the descriptive words that you used like, coiled, beckoned, and oasis.

    I felt the outrage right down to the core from each and every one of you! :)

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