Of Sibling Love

The little girl was watching TV, giving it her full and focussed attention as always.

The little boy was keeping his sister company, messing about with his cars and engines, not really interested in a program that featured neither firemen nor trains.

As the end credits rolled, their mother stepped into the room saying, 'Alright kids, time to turn off the TV. It's bedtime.'

A wail of protest from the little girl, 'But Mom! I only watched for 10 minutes!'

'Too bad', the hardhearted mother replied, 'You should have thought of that when you were dawdling over dinner. Now it's time for bed.'

'But...!'

'No buts. Now go brush your teeth before you lose your bedtime story as well.' So saying, she reached for the remote and turned off the TV.

Outraged at the unfairness of it all, the little girl burst into tears.

Taking a deep breath, the mother prepared to deliver the threatened punishment, but the little boy was too quick for her.

Inserting himself between his exasperated mother and his sobbing sister, he pointed an accusatory finger at his mom and yelled, 'Mama naughtyboy! Nay-nay TV watching!' Then with a yowl that sounded suspiciously like a war cry, he attacked, attempting to climb up his mother's legs and retrieve the remote that she held.

One-handed and slightly off balance, the mother tried to fend off her ferocious little attacker, even as her daughter stopped wailing to watch the struggle open-mouthed. In the meanwhile, the father had arrived at the scene and persuaded her to go choose her bedtime story.

'Come on, Munchie,' she said, in the manner of a warrior queen calling off her troops. 'Let's go choose a story.'

And just like that, he released his grip on his mother's leg and trotted off behind his big sister, ready to fight for her again should she need him.

Or just fight with her, as happened exactly one minute later in an all out brawl about which bedtime story should be read first, involving much yelling, hair-pulling, and scratching.

Oh, the love!

This post is dedicated to my younger brother on what would have been his 27th birthday.
Happy Birthday, M. I miss you.