Yesterday my sister (13 months my junior) had brain surgery to clamp an aneurysm deep inside her brain. The next 72 hours, says the surgeon, will be the most critical.
There were times when we were kids that either of us would have argued that the other didn’t even have a brain! We were close as kids; the constant arguing and bickering was actually proof of our deep affection for each other.
Being the oldest child carries a lot of responsibility with it. It was I who had to think of ways to entertain and amuse us during the long, hot days of summer in southern Louisiana. Sometimes it meant arranging a funeral for all the bugs, birds or small reptiles we could find that day, supervising the wake and funeral march, making sure the grave was big enough for the matchbox to be completely covered, and overseeing the placement of the flowers (usually heisted from the neighbors garden) at the foot of the sticks that were supposed to resemble a cross.
Other times it was my duty to keep my sister amused as our Mom was scolding (yelling if you prefer the crude description) her for something that we both may have been involved in but only she, being the younger, got caught doing. My role was to stand behind Mom and make faces and/or gestures to amuse my sister. My sister would then smile, laugh or snicker, depending on my degree of success. Mom, at this time totally into her job as the ‘discipliner’, did not take kindly to being laughed at, and would crossly question my sister, asking her ‘Do you think this is funny?’ Of course, my sister, being the brilliant child that she was, would answer to the negative, never giving away my position.
We both laughed hardily about this a week ago while we were visiting. I can’t physically be with her right now, but spiritually I’m right there with her, trying to help her through the worst of the pain.