They're So Cute When They're Little, But...

I was at a baby shower the other night that Olga threw for her son and his girlfriend, and we were all discussing how cute kids are when they're young.  My department manager, Chris, said, "They're so cute when they're little, but then they grow up and turn into brats."  I could beg to differ for a lot of cases.  It's all in the kind of parenting, but I'm sure she knows that.

At any rate, it made me think back to when my sister and I were kids.  I've heard numerous stories of how we were as babies.  Of course, I couldn't recount these from personal memory, but our parents have certainly drilled them into our heads enough that we could tell them as if we remember them.

For example, I was born 27 minutes before my sister because she was born breech, so when I came out--so I'm told--I didn't cry or scream.  I just looked around the room.  My sister, however, came out "screaming bloody murder."  And so go our personalities for the next almost-23 years.

When we were supposed to be sleeping in our cribs, I used to make little noises (I can better represent them in person, so just ask if you're really that curious) to wake my sister up, and when she finally did, she'd start screaming and crying.  After I'd succeeded in waking her, I'd stop making my noises and lie there silently.  I was always the antagonizer, and I still am...

When my sister would get upset as a child, she would hold her breath.  One time she even made herself pass out, which caused our babysitter to, of course, freak out.  She called my mom asking what she should do.  It was so commonplace at the time, she just told her to wait it out.  She'll come to.  She did.

It wasn't uncommon for me to have a wedgie in my bathing suit as a kid.  I don't know what was wrong with me that I never picked it out.  Maybe I just enjoyed the tight feeling.  I have no clue.  My father liked to capitalize on this and make fun of me.  I still continue to get ridiculed for that.  Oh, that and my inclination to say, "I wasn't paying attention."  He claims he'll put it as my epitaph.  I'm not so sure I trust my husband not to do it since he's in on the joke, as well.

My father started a system of punishment that caused us to make sure the other didn't get out of line.  It's a little thing called reverse psychology:  If you misbehave, your sister gets punished, and if she misbehaves, you get punished.  That really saved my parents from having to watch us at night when we were supposed to be asleep.  We made sure the other didn't wreak havoc.  If you think about it, it really was a good system.

Today I think we turned out to be pretty good adults.  My sister has been pretty successful in her life.  Career-wise, I haven't been that successful, but I have myself to blame for that.  However, I have a husband who loves me and takes care of me, a job, a roof over my head, and I'm not all that bad of a person either.  So not all kids are cursed to be brats.