"Oh come on, it will be fun!" Adam said convincingly.
"No," I answered rather blatantly, " I don't like that idea." I looked at the swing, then at the tree, then back at my brother. It was one of those warm summer nights just before the sun sank down behind the houses. The murmur of voices streamed through the open windows of our house and the lights shone upon the grass in our yard. We raced outside the minute we finished the dinner dishes. Summer was always our favorite; we did so many things. We always had good ideas. Especially that one day when Adam decided to pogo-stick one thousand times and I kept count with chalk on the driveway. Or, when we decided to take up golf--in our backyard [our neighbors didn't like that idea too much]. Or, the time we used the mini trampoline to jump into our four foot pool. Most of our ideas didn't make it passed the approval of our loving parents who cared for our health and well-being. So, the majority of those days were spent up in the trees or roller-blading down the sidewalk.
Rainy days were just as good. New ideas were born every second; flowing through our brains. From the moment we woke up, we would take all the boxes of Lego out and divide them up between the two of us. We would get excited, as we discussed our ideas at breakfast, and without a moment to lose we were racing up the stairs for fear they would escape from us. Upstairs we would play for hours at a time only breaking to use the bathroom or to eat lunch. Some days were spent in castles and cathedrals accompanied by knights, armor, and little plastic swords. Other days we played the wild west theme with outlaws, bandits, banks, and rifles. But the majority of our Lego days were dedicated to our precious Lego town, houses, hotels, roads, and lots and lots of speeding tickets from Sheriff (Adam) to the innocent by-standards(me) who were "speeding". We would spend hours and hours building and setting up---only to play for twenty minutes and save it for the next rainy day.
"Please, I'll even come and untie you if you can't get out," Adam reassured me. I was hesitant, but anxious to do something exciting before the street lights came on and we were called inside for the evening.
"Okay, but you have to promise that you will come and get me, AND, that it won't look funny!"
"No worries," he said, as he ran for the long yellow rope that hung in our garage. While I awaited his return, somewhat anxiously, I positioned myself in the swing as he told me. With my last few moments of freedom, I thought over his plan to make sure it wasn't faulty. He wanted to use his new skills in rope-knotting, and for some strange reason, he thought it would be best to use them on a real human. In my case, this was me. He returned with two ropes over his shoulder and a huge smile on his face. I sat perfectly still, watching his every move. I memorized all the slips, twists, and loops he did, hoping to do them all backwards. The rope scrapped against my arms and ankles, but I was determined to prove to him that I was capable of pain.
Minutes later, I was all tied up; arms, ankles, and wrists, to the swing. I looked down and my eyes swiftly skimmed it over.
"Ha!" I thought to myself, "Easy enough." I looked at Adam with a boastful grin, but was surprised when the look on his face grew more sneaky and mysterious. He grabbed the other rope and tied it to me, then swung it over the branch of our big Maple tree. My heart began to race and he pulled and pulled. Up, up, up I went. I was in the air and attached to the swing! I sat there motionless--legs dangling. It was a strange feeling to be up there and NOT swinging. Adam stood back to admire his accomplishment.
"You look like your frozen in time!" was his reply. I could only imagine how silly I must have looked. My eyes went from him, to the tree, then to the ground, which seemed so far down. I was stuck.
The series of events that followed this scene are normal reactions from any ten year old who happened to be stuck between a swing set and a enormously large tree. I cried, whined, yelled and squirmed until what seemed like an eternity [or about 3 minutes] when Dad finally came out to see what was going on. Happy days. :)
Today is my brother's birthday. I am so thankful that God blessed me with him. We have had some great moments together, even more so as we have grown older. Thankfully, he doesn't tie me up in the trees anymore. We have shared some great discussions about our hopes, dreams, thoughts, and opinions. We have gone shopping together for new clothes and new toys; like Skyballs and Nerf guns. We like making homemade pizza together; he makes the sauce and I make the pizza dough--all from scratch. I love the sense of protection I receive from my older brother, and the way he makes me feel safe when we go out. I love his laugh and his sense of humor. I love his jokes, and the way he makes me feel better after a bad day. I wouldn't trade those moments for anything in the world.
Happy Birthday Adam! :D
