When I was little, I was, quite frankly, a wimp. I mean, I still am, but at least I've grown out of crying when I get a scraped knee. My brothers, who are both very close in age to me, have always known exactly how to push my buttons. At age five, that meant telling my favorite horror story that began with "It was a dark and stormy night" and ended with me getting kidnapped in a grocery store (I cried every time they tried to tell it). At age fourteen, that meant my younger brother, who was in the same grade as me, making fun of "Lefty" (the name of my left ear that sticks out more than my right ear) and threatening to tell everyone who I had a crush on. Now, it means talking about their squirrel hunting plans in front of me, even though they know my sorority's mascot is a squirrel and I have a soft spot for the "tree rats." If you, too, have survived the trauma of growing up with a brother, then you may be familiar with these aspects of life.
1. Driving
My older brother thought he knew it all when I learned how to drive (and so did my younger one). My little brother was the one who taught me that you likely won't get pulled over if you drive 5 mph over the speed limit. Great influence! Granted, I needed the help. I failed the driving portion of my driver's test because I drove on the wrong side of the road. When my older brother started driving, I thought I was the coolest person alive when I rode to school in his 1990-something Yukon with camo seat covers while all of my other friends still got dropped off by their parents. My younger brother loved the age gap between he and I turning sixteen (I'm older) where he had to ride home from school with me.
2. Hide and Seek
If you have a sibling, you're probably pretty good at hide-and-seek. But if you have a brother, you're a pro. For some reason, the thought of being found by my sister didn't terrify me as much as being found by the boys. It was a bloodbath of a competition. One time, I hid under the sink for so long, they yelled that I wasn't allowed to cheat and then started searching outside.
3. Moving things
When I moved into my freshman dorm, I scoffed at all the girls who didn't have brothers there to help (just kidding, I felt bad for them). Not only did I have my dad to lift the heavy things (and believe me, I brought a LOT of heavy things), I had two brothers who were ready and more than willing to help me make the big move across town.
4. Automatic fan club
When you play sports (or in my case, are a die hard choir nerd), your siblings are almost always there for the games (or concerts). My brothers always sat through my choir concerts in the nice air conditioning. So you're both welcome, since I didn't play outdoor sports for long. In the end, they were rewarded for all their hard sitting work when I made All-State during high school and we got to spend the weekend in Hot Springs after my concerts. They never made a fat head of me, unfortunately.
5. Giving you a hard time
What else are brothers good for? Even though they used to make me cry, I am so thankful I finally toughened up and learned to dish it right back out at them. Even though my classmates had a crush on both of them throughout high school (which always grossed me out), I am so glad to have two brothers who love to give me grief about anything and everything. Even though they never grew out of it.
