Oh Brother!

Tap tap tap... "Yes?" I ask politely. "Nothing," he replies with a larger-than-usual grin on his face. Oh great; I know what this means. Tap tap tap... I remain calm and perched in my seat, deciding to ignore this (shall I call it) brotherly love(?). Tap tap tap... But then again, I can't let this go on forever! As taps turn into slaps, I raise my voice (just ever so slightly, mind you) with the admonition, "Well if it's 'nothing' then can you please stop slapping me?" "Character is always lost!" he answers with a twinkle in his eye. "What?" I ask. "Keep breathing - don't listen to the lies!" followed by an insidious giggle. I'm confused... "What? What lies?" More giggling, this time the other brother joins in. I roll my eyes, let out a sigh, utter "whatever" under my breath, and turn back around. Now, of course, the poking begins. And from both sides too. So they've combined forces against me, I see. Wonderful. But what harm is a poke going to do to me? I'm stronger than this; I can take this! Until they find the pressure points... where they poke good and hard. "Ow!" I try to get the point across. But it doesn't help. They keep it going... and going. Tension rises as I turn around and glare at both of them. "Stop!!" I declare with irritation and urgency. Each of them points to the other as if to shift the blame. "Character is always lost!" one of them somehow manages to say through his stifled giggles. I roll my eyes again. "What does that even mean?" More giggles. More rolling eyes. They break into song, using my head as a drum of course, singing something about "character is always lost" to the tune of "This is the Song that Never Ends." After 5 rounds of the song, I can't handle it anymore. It's too petty to tell mom and dad, but way too annoying to let go. I let out a long, exasperating sigh and furrow my brow. I can play this game too. It's time for payback... or should I call it, "sisterly love"...

Brothers can be really annoying. They can bug you to death. Let me rephrase that: They will bug you do death. Guaranteed. But when I really think about it, I guess I have to admit that, well, I probably bug them to death too. To be completely honest though, somehow I think we all enjoy it. Well, to an extent anyway. As much as I can't stand their silly (and confusing) talk, annoying taps and pokes, incessant giggles behind my back, and never-ending teasing, I don't think I'd trade any of it for the world. We're brothers and sister - this is how we interact. We love messing with each other, even if it means they'll mess with us. And no matter what, it always seems to end in laughter... from all parties involved (usually, anyway). I like to laugh, but I don't know if I laugh as long or as hard with anybody as I do with my brothers. We're either irritating each other or rolling on the floor with laughter. But no matter what, we're always making memories; there is never a dull moment.

Now... back to my "sisterly love" strategizing...