Sunday, May 3, 2009

Mrs. Doubtfire and the Wooden Cow

This morning as I was finishing up my breakfast, I looked out of the kitchen window and saw that our neighbor/landlord was tearing down our chain link fence to put a new wooden one in. This was a regular ocassion: I'd wake up late on a Sunday morning and see him walking around our back yard, mowing the lawn, pulling out weeds, or showing the property to future potential tenants. His fifteen year old son was helping him this time, and I could see him furiously swinging a pick axe at a patch of fresh dirt. The two seemed to be working quite hard, and for a second I thought, "Hmmm, I'm not doing anything important. Maybe I should go out there and help. After all, it is my backyard they're working on." Then I quickly came to my senses, and sat back down on the couch to watch Mrs. Doubtfire, for the 8 or 9th time.

Later in the day, I had to supervise my baby brother while he played in the sandbox in our backyard. I poured myself a cup of tea, got my laptop, and sat outside in the 80 degree weather, watching a two year old roll around in sand. The problem was, it was so sunny that I couldn't see anything on my screen ecxept my own reflection. I bet I looked pretty retarded, waving my laptop in the air, looking for a better angle. I was extremely glad the neighbor and his son were done working for the day, or else they would see me relaxing on my back porch, with my laptop and my drink, while they were hard at work providing me with a new fence.

After captivating all the fun a sandbox could provide, Anton moved onto a patch of dirt next to the house, where he found a wooden cow and started smearing it into the dirt. My mother, trying to prevent a mess, yelled to him: "Take it out on the grass! Take the cow out on the grass!" He later went back to his sandbox, and proceeded to shovel sand unto the lawn.

This is what it's like having a sibling who is 14 years younger than you...

You open up the dishwasher, only to find half of it filled with Thomas the Tank Engine sippy cups and Mickey Mouse themed plates. You lay down to watch an episode of Cops, and five minutes later you get kicked off the TV because Dora the Explorer is starting soon.
When you have friends coming over, you have to tell them to call instead of knocking if its during nap hours. The majority of people that visit your house are under five years of age. Ninety-nine percent of your PVR is filled with recordings of Baby Einstein and Winnie the Pooh. You're approching graduation, and yet you're trapped in the Hundred Acre Woods.


Sitting in my backyard with a laptop, I realized how pathetic I must have looked, talking on Instant Messenger, while my baby brother played by himself in the sand. It's the same at restaurants, where I play Tetris on my cellphone while waiting for my food, rather than socializing with my family. I also can't get through a regular day without reading a fresh batch of FML stories. And now, even in my backyard, outdoor outlets and charger cables prevent my laptop's battery from running out, keeping me wired and entertained as I bask in the sun.

No comments:

Post a Comment