Making It Up to Ben

As I was writing the Little Brother Chronicles, I know it appeared I was picking on Ben. : )

(In case you missed it, the Saga of the Moon Boot was the overwhelming favorite.)

After sharing all of those embarrassing moments with you all, I promised I would make it up to him. I promised I had a purpose for it all. : )

So in this last installment of the Little Brother Chronicles, I hope it will be abundantly clear how much I love you, Ben, and how proud I am to be your big sister. : )

There are more funny stories to tell, like the time my mom got a phone call from the local grocery store:

"Sally, this is Carol down at Evans Foods. I was just wondering if you were aware that Ben was down here trying to buy a can of spinach?"

(Mom thought he was playing at his friend, Adam's, house so this was news to her)

"Well, he doesn't have any money on him, but we can credit it to you if you really need the spinach." (Aren't small towns great?)

We later learned he needed spinach to be strong "like Popeye" so going to the grocery store to get it made sense to him. : )


Then there is the disaster he made of my Barbie's wedding! For months I planned Barbie's wedding, saving my allowance to buy the wedding dress and the furniture I needed to set the scene. All I asked Ben to do was walk Ken down the aisle and hold him up during the ceremony. Easy right? But no, Ben made peeing noises and made sure Ken urinated on all of the guests as he walked up the aisle! The ceremony was all down hill after that entrance!


Or, I could tell of the one and only time he tried to beat me up after watching Disney's Last Electric Knight.

But instead of more silly stories, I want to focus on the man he has become.

As we were growing up, Ben was my best buddy. We actually liked each other and had so much fun together. We moved a lot during some critical stages of growing up, and we leaned on each other throughout those times of adjustment.

Having different talents and interests, I'm thankful we were supportive of each other instead of competitive. I loved watching him excel at sports. I never missed a game! When he was pitching, I thought I'd have a heart attack from the stress of it all, but he was really good and it was fun to cheer him on. He was a football star, too. I can still see the game he had five different opponents hanging on him, trying to pull him down, but he wouldn't give up and drug all five in to the end zone with him for a touchdown.

When I was a Senior and Ben was a Freshmen, we were in high school together. Whenever I stopped by my locker, I had to keep an eye out for Ben because he liked to sneak up on me and carry me down the hallway like a sack of potatoes. He was still my younger brother, but he had ceased to be my "little" brother. : )

I'll never forget the day in high school when we sat in a Dairy Queen booth drinking milkshakes and asking each other how we got so lucky to have such a great family life. We've always known we were blessed.

Today, my little brother is a husband, a father, and a successful computer programmer. He married a great girl who became a great mother and wife. I'm just so proud of him and so in love with his kids and his wife, Angie.

He loves Jesus and is raising his kids to love Him, too. He is a man of God. The same kind of man I want my son to be someday.

When I think about a little brother, there is one image that comes to my mind.

I'm such a sentimental sap, I have tears running down my face as I type the end of this post.

I wanted you all to "know" my brother Ben so you would understand when I make this next announcement.

So now the moment you've all been waiting for....(At least Mia has been waiting) : )

Our little Monster Truck has a real name.

From now on, he is Benjamin, in honor of the best brother in the whole universe!

I love you, Ben!

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Cookoo for Cocoa Puffs- Little Brother Chronicles Part 3

Yes, it’s true. I’m still picking on my little brother. (Who by the way isn’t so little any more) : )

Like I said in the Underoos post, Ben was a constant source of entertainment for our little family and the star of some of my best stories. I’m just compelled to tell them. I hope you’ll stick with me to the end of the Little Brother Chronicles because you’ll see that I will make it up to him. : )

You can catch up here:

Little Brother Chronicles Part One

Little Brother Chronicles Part Two

Big Sister to the Rescue:

Right after “Daddy” and “Mommy”, my little brother’s first words were “Cocoa Puffs.”
He loved to say the words “Cocoa Puffs.”
He loved to eat Cocoa Puffs.
Ben’s love affair with Cocoa Puffs was well known throughout our neighborhood.
He really was cookoo for Cocoa Puffs.

My mom has the greatest cassette recordings of our voices when we were kids. On one you can hear her urging Ben to talk into the microphone.

“Ben, say, ‘Hi Grandma and Grandpa.’”

“Cocoa Puffs!”

“No, Ben, Grandma and Grandpa want to hear you talk to them. I’ll get you Cocoa Puffs later. Can you say hi to Grandma and Grandpa?”

“Cocoa Puffs!” He insisted.

“Can you say how old you are?”

Cracking up at his own joke, he answered “Cocoa Puffs!”

She gave up. She didn’t know she had captured a classic Benism on tape. I’m glad he didn’t say “Hi Grandma and Grandpa.” : )

As cute as it was, this obsession with Cocoa Puffs almost cost him dearly, though.

The Bradley kids lived down the ally from us, and one day they snuck into our backyard where Ben was playing all by himself.

“Hey, Ben, you want some Cocoa Puffs?” They held out a tray of chocolate lumps. “We baked homemade Cocoa Puffs JUST FOR YOU!”

Stepping out the backdoor into the yard, I overheard them. Then I remembered….

“No, Ben! Don’t eat it!” The Bradley kids took off running.

Ben was so mad at me for chasing off his friends as he watched them run away laughing, taking his beloved Cocoa Puffs with them. He didn’t know what I knew.

Guess where that tray came from? Guess what the “homemade Cocoa Puffs” really were?

Ben’s lucky he had a big sister watching his back.

The Bradley’s had rabbits! : )

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Still Reminiscing: Little Brother Chronicles Part 2

It really wasn't fair to begin my Little Brother Chronicles with a story painting Ben in such a "less than glamorous" light. He deserves better. I have the best brother in the whole universe....despite the Moon Boot incident. : )

I can't wait for my girls to experience the fun of having their own little brother. My big sister heart still fills with love and pride when I think about my little brother. It's always been that way.

I was 2 and 1/2 years old when Mom and Dad brought Baby Benjamin Michael home from the hospital. I was in love from the beginning. So in love, in fact, that my mom had to buy a play pen just to keep him safe from my love. For some reason she didn't like it when I walked out of the bedroom carrying my baby brother like a rag doll, his head held securely in the crook of my elbow.

In the beginning we shared a bedroom in our tiny 1920's bungalow, but when I was in elementary school, Dad remodeled the basement, adding a Master Bedroom. Ben and I were given our own rooms. It was a sad day. We were just across the hall from each other but it felt like miles apart. We kept our bedroom doors opened so we could talk before we fell asleep. Many mornings, I'd wake up with a visitor in my bed. He missed his big sissy.

I'm not just biased when I say my little brother was cute! Completely towheaded with green eyes and a contagious giggle, he was easy to love. He had his very own sense of style, too. Ben's haircut of choice was a crew cut and his outfit was usually a pair of cutoffs, no shirt, and his beloved cowboy boots.

He was a constant source of entertainment for our little family. One summer day, he pulled a disappearing act (one of many) that we still laugh about today.

(Side note: Before I tell the story, I HAVE TO ASK, does this photo bring back memories for anyone else? My Wonder Woman underoos were one of my childhood treasures)

Superman Disappears

On this particular summer day, Ben's outfit of choice was the red briefs from his Superman underoos and his red rubber Paddington Bear galoshes. That's it. What can I say? He was a minimalist. : )

Mom washed dishes in the kitchen, watching him through the kitchen window while he played in the backyard. I can imagine how she must of felt watching her baby boy, lost in imagination, playing in the backyard in that ridiculous outfit. It must have melted her heart.

For a few minutes, she got distracted from her dishes, looked back out into the yard and realized that Ben was gone. I'm sure she didn't panic at first, but as she continued to call and call and search, Ben was nowhere to be found, and she did start to panic a little.

I had a friend over for the afternoon, so she and I hopped on her banana seat bike and went searching for Ben.

We called and called and searched the neighborhood. How far could he have gone?

We rounded the corner, and at the base of a steep hill we could hear music in the distance. We looked up at the top of the hill as the music came closer and closer. It was the high school marching band practicing again.

As the band crested the hill, we fell off her bike, gasping for air, suddenly struck by uncontrollable laughter.

Marching down the middle of the street to the beat of the drums, proudly leading the way for a bunch of laughing highschoolers, was a towheaded toddler wearing nothing but red Superman briefs and his spiffy Paddington Bear galoshes!

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Reminiscing: Saga of the Moon Boot

Warning: This is a tragic and somewhat disgusting tale. Not for the faint of heart (or stomach). Read at your own risk. : )

We're preparing for a little boy's arrival around here in Princess Land, and all of this preparation has stirred my own memories of being a big sister. Most are happy, but there is one memory still requiring therapy even after all of these years. : )

(Actually there are two, but I'll save the Last Electric Knight episode for another blog post)

Sometimes life just isn't fair when you are the big sister. Remember Moon Boots? Moon Boots were a must-have in our snowy Eastern Washington town during my childhood, but my poor mom was a busy school teacher who rarely had the time to pre-buy anything.

Waiting for the first snowfall, she'd look out the window and say, "Oh no, you need snow boots." The first available Saturday, we'd head to the store and find whatever pair of Moon Boots were left in our size. Year after year I'd hope for the best, but without fail, year after year, I would end up with BOY BOOTS!!!

It was painful to go to school in my ugly navy with yellow stripes boots while the other girls compared their beautiful pink, purple, or even silver boots. I dreamt of the day I would own my own GIRL BOOTS!

It didn't happen. In our small town, beautiful girl boots sold out faster than ugly boy boots.

One magical year, however, my luck changed. A few days before Christmas, we walked into K-Mart's shoe section and found a display of closeout Moon Boots. And what to my wondering eyes should appear?

A pair of Moon Boots in MY SIZE and ON SALE! These boots weren't navy blue or black or brown. It was as if the heavens opened, a ray of sunshine broke through the ceiling, and I beheld the holy grail of Moon Boots. Before me was the most beautiful, gloriously pink pair of boots I had ever seen. You'd be hard pressed to find more girlie boots than these girlie boots. They were pink! Pink boots! And they were mine!

I wished Christmas Vacation would hurry up and end so I could walk into school with my new boots. I couldn't wait to show Erin and Misty and Christy and any other girl who would appreciate my prize.

Finally! My turn had arrived! I had girl boots! : )

But patience was required because Christmas vacation had just begun.

On Christmas Eve, we drove an hour away to Grandma and Grandpa's house to celebrate. Their house was heaven on earth for two little kids. My brother, Ben, and I couldn't get enough of the presents and candies and cookies and eggnog.

I guess my little brother especially couldn't get enough, because as we drove home late that night he began to complain of a tummy ache.

"Ohhhh my tummy hurts!"

My parents assured him that he was fine and that we were almost home.

"NO! I am going to throw up!" Ben insisted.

They tried again to assure him that he just ate too much and would be fine. Then my mom heard his gagging sounds and said, "I think he really is going to throw up. Pull over Roy!"

No doubt about it, vomiting was going to happen and immediate action was required.

To this day, I can see the scene replayed in my mind's eye. I can see Dad's hand coming around from the front seat. I can see him grabbing my beautiful, brand new, never even worn to school yet, GIRL BOOTS. I can still hear him saying, "Here throw up in this."

"NO!!!!" I screamed but it was too late. To my horror, my angel brother filled not one but BOTH of my beautiful, brand new, never even worn to school yet, GIRL BOOTS!

Merry Christmas to me...

Stopping at the nearest dumpster to deposit the vomit filled boots, my mom turned around from the front seat and said, "Don't worry, Honey, we'll go to the store first thing next week and get you a new pair."

She kept her promise. The first day we could make it to the store, we picked up a new pair of Moon Boots, that were just my size.

Just my size and navy blue with yellow stripes. : )

Character Building 101 I guess. : )

I feel better getting this off my chest. : )

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