I wasn't too welcome on being born, for my brother who was two years older than me found that I was getting all the good things he once had so he planned a war of revenge on this wiling bundle currently clinging to him and my mother and gorging myself on gallons of her milk!
I couldn't do much as he did, such as running around the house and garden. I just crawled around the floor, under tables and chairs bumping my head against dog, walls and doors without the ability to open them as I couldn't yet stand to reach the door handle.
However all that changed when my legs finally stood up and I could totter around making a mess of everything that crossed my path. One day my brother was sitting at the table playing with toys or using pencil or crayons to draw things with of which I knew nothing,
I was keen though and tried to sit at the table with him.He helped by getting me to climb on a chair then let me sit on the table to see what he was doing. He seem quite pleased so just for fun he took all the chairs away and decided to leave me there.
Needless to say I wanted to follow him so I slipped off the table and fell on the floor and started wailing out loud. It was then that mother rushed in and found this screaming child. Her elder son however was oblivious to the event (so he said).
What a great example in life was installed in me all those years ago...trust no-one! Mind you this never happened again but I realized that life is not easy. However I was now alert to the dangers of life.
So when I too married and became a father, I made sure that I would spend as much time as possible to be with my children and ensure that they found life adventurous and fun...but not sitting on the table.
Image found at www.pixabay.com
A fascinating tale of your early life. Yes, fathers should spend time with their kids; and I think kids as young as your and your brother were need to be supervised. We learn by our parents' mistakes as much as by the things they did right.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad my kids got along a bit better. Don't get me wrong, when they were children they could peel the paint off the wall when yelling at each other. But now Darling Youngest and Darling Eldest are steadfast allies.
ReplyDeleteSad ...you write a lot about your suffering at your brother's hand. Sibling rivalry needs to be curbed...
ReplyDeleteAmusing how each set of parents tries to correct the errors they feel their parents committed. Hopefully our children benefit!
ReplyDeleteWisdom indeed.
ReplyDeleteThe big brother sounds a bit scary. Being annoyed by the sibling that seems to get everything is one thing, but setting things up so that the a child will get hurt is quite another. Well, at least something good came out of it.
ReplyDeleteI loved reading this ... loved!
ReplyDeleteFun reading, Robin. I felt sorry for your fall but he was to young to be left alone with you. I had a sister five years younger, she got my room, the second in a two-bedroom house but that was okay with me, I slept on the couch. Finally I had a playmate besides my dog.
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An interesting insight into your childhood, Robin, and sibling rivalry.You write a lot about your brother, who seems to have left a deep impression on you.
ReplyDeleteTwo years apart seems to be the very worst age difference.
ReplyDeleteThat family photo is so beautiful.
I miss having a crawler. <3
Liked having this glimpse into your childhood, Robin. Sibling rivalry is rampant when you are young.
ReplyDeleteWhether real or fabricated, this is a lesson well learned by the little guy. Some siblings are golden, others a mix, and some just plain awful. :)
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