Tuesday, February 15, 2011

The Triumphant Come-back

There are not very many occasions where I have triumphed over my older brother. He has always been the one to finish on top. Whether it was an argument, a sparring match, or just a funny joke, he has almost always been the one to win. There is one special occasion, however, where this was not the case.

My dear brother has always loved to push my buttons. He will make fun of me, do things that he knows will annoy me, and try to start fights just for the fun of it. One day he decided to try a new way of being an obnoxious older brother. There I was, minding my own business, when all of a sudden my brother comes charging through the house. As he comes up to me he lets out a loud, shrill shriek. It was the kind of noise that sends you jumping out of your skin in surprise. After that, he stops and looks at me with a huge cheesy grin on his face. He says to me, “Wasn't that the most annoying sound you've ever heard?”

Now, unlike my brother, I do not enjoy poking people's buttons, I do however enjoy being able to take him down a notch every once in a while. I waited for a moment, watching my brother stand there looking incredibly pleased with himself. I relished seeing him so proud before I spoke, knowing that what I was going to say to him would send him reeling. Casually, I responded. “No, the one you made after was way worse.”

As soon as I spoke we both knew that I had won this battle. He was speechless at first. I watched as shock, awe, and finally glee crossed his face. After he was able to compose himself again he chuckled and proclaimed it the best come-back ever. He went on to tell every person we saw that day about the events that had occurred and every time he retold the story he did so with a hint of pride in his voice for his baby sister.

My brother may be an annoyance some of the time, but he does the things he does out of love. Usually when he is teasing me or poking my buttons he is just trying to get me to smile and sometimes, if I'm lucky, I get the chance to return the favor.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

I Fold My Underwear

I love how, after doing all your laundry, everything is folded or hung up and it's all tucked away into its own special little place. Sometimes I am super good about putting my clothes away. I will make sure everything is perfectly neat and where it belongs. My shirts will be hung up and organized by style and color, my pants put away and in proper order, my underwear folded neatly and placed in little piles in a drawer.

Unfortunately, this order usually only lasts for a short time. All it takes is one hectic week for it to turn to chaos. If I'm lucky the clothes make it into the closet, some hung up, some folded, and others simply tossed in a pile. Often times though the clothes will be tossed in a corner for me to rifle through as needed. The dirty clothes, of course, get discarded on my bathroom floor to be forgotten.

The worst part of this chaos is what happens to my underwear. Instead of being neatly tucked away in cute little piles, they get strewn about in a jumble of colors and lace. Period panties mixed in with the sexy things. Bikinis, hiphuggers, and thongs swimming around together in total disarray. Soon even the socks start to become involved. At that point it is only a matter of time...

The socks are similar to prophets. Soon after their arrival in the chaos, I receive an epiphany. It is time, I think. I force myself to remain calm, and take a deep breath as I tackle the daunting task that lies ahead. First the dirty laundry gets scooped up and put through the wash. Then on to hanging up all the shirts, making sure they go in their proper order. Pants, dresses, pajamas, and workout clothes follow behind. Everything is put back where it belongs. Lastly the underwear drawer gets completely emptied. All the panties tumble out and lie in a heap on the floor. One by one the pairs get folded and put into piles. After the tiny piles are put away I can't help but be satisfied. Once again there is order.