Family is for First Aid

Hey everyone!

So one opportunity of being a college student is returning from across the country as a guest in your own home.  I felt out of place after spending so many months on my own schedule apart from the people who have made my life up to a year ago possible.

We went on two road trips this summer and I sat in the back of the car between my little brothers Mike and Pete. An hour or so into each trip I would stop thinking about how odd we must have looked to our parents. Mike and I top 6 feet each, and though I'm four years older, he has about 20 pounds on me. Pete is tiny, with a shock of golden blond curls; the whole time he was in the car with us he was smashed against the left door.

My brothers can make just about anyone feel at home. Pete and my youngest brother C.J. get in fights at least as often as one would expect for two brothers born a year apart. Pete wins almost every time in spite of his size, mostly because of years of experience tackling Mike and I.

Anyway, one day in June I was sitting in our dining room when I heard my brothers having a go at one another. My dad had left the house an hour before and was in the process of redoing the living room, where my brothers usually fought, leaving me in charge of keeping the house in one piece.

Normally, I let them be, but given the fresh paint on the walls I decided today that plan wouldn't work. I stood and walked into the living room just in time to catch the highlight of the summer.

Pete let CJ get back up and CJ walked to the far side of the living room. It was the third time in a row he'd been thrown to the ground and he was looking for any options he had to get an advantage. He spotted a small black handkerchief and had an idea no-one in our family has had the ingenuity or courage to imitate since. Before either Pete or I could object he blindfolded himself tightly, doing the opposite of kid trying to cheat swinging at a pinata, and then dropped to a crouch and charged at Pete.

Just before they collided CJ shouted out, "No-one can beat me I'm Daredevil." Peter got over his surprise and dove out of the way as CJ collided with the wall.

One thing I've learned growing up with brothers is that some of the people who love you the most will let you try stupid ideas, not because they don't care, but because they're curious what could be running through your head at the moment you go for a strategy no-one else was dumb enough to try.