More tales about the Scientist's childhood

I really should be working right now, but writing about whatever I want and listening to my Pandora station is so much more appealing. Lately, I have been blogging about my childhood and stories about my brothers. Last night, I shared some memories of my older brother in honor of his pending nuptials. It was difficult to pay attention in statistics today, well especially difficult. I kept thinking about my brothers and how excited I am for November 18. My younger brother, Joshua, is the best man. So, following the theme of describing memories of my family, the following is a tribute to my younger sibling. 

Oh Joshua, where do I even begin? I wish I remembered the day you came home from the hospital. I had just turned 2 four weeks prior to your birth. I have a photo of Christian and I, smiling from ear to ear at our new baby brother. Suddenly, I became the middle child and the only girl.

You were the child that made our mother's hair turn gray. You were very naughty. Once, you threw tipped the cat box over onto a pile of clean clothes. You terrorized my cat Snertz by trapping her under laundry baskets and you even through her down the laundry shoot once.

Remember when you pushed the frozen 23 lb Thanksgiving turkey down the stairs? Mom and dad brought it in and I watched you push it over the first stair. It made a large crash and a huge hole in the wall at the base of the stairs. 

Remember when I dressed you up in my Hawaiian print dress and put mom's makeup on you? 

Remember when you would fill buckets and cups with water in the tub and splash it out?

"JOSHUA! Are you splashing water out of the tub??!" yelled our mother.

SPLASH! SPLASH!

"No!" you replied. 

You drove me absolutely nuts when were children. You continued to bother me when we were teenagers. You would come into my room and never leave. You were relentless! 


"Erin, I'll leave when you tell me how many seeds are in an apple," you would say. You terrorized me with household objects. You used to whack me with wrapping paper tubes and anything you could find. Remember when you whipped me with that plastic thing?


"Erin, if you say I am the whipper man! I will leave you alone!"


When your bedroom was moved downstairs, you refused to sleep down there. You would sneak into my bedroom and sleep on the floor. I protested, but mom just told me to shut up and let you sleep there. 


We fought violently. We punched and kicked. We exchanged extremely harsh words. We had screaming matches for the whole neighborhood to hear. 

Mom and dad bought you your first paintball gun one Christmas. I was terrified. Sure enough, you shot me a few times.

"Erin, open the door," you said outside my bedroom. As soon as I opened it, you shot me in the chest with the paintball gun. Another time, I was sitting at the family computer, minding my own business, when I looked over at you. You were crouched on the floor and orange paint was everywhere! On my legs, all over the floor. You didn't even get in trouble! I had a welt on my thigh. 


Before the paintball guns, you had a rubber band rifle. You shot me in the eye. It hit me about a millimeter below my eye. 


If I tried to lock you out of my room, you went outside and retrieved the ladder to climb up through the window. 


Remember when you lit a bottle rocket off in the kitchen sink?

Remember when you put a hashbrown patty in the microwave for 20 minutes instead of 2? It started on fire and black smoke poured out of the microwave.


But, sometimes we were the best of friends. You could always make me laugh. We loved quoting our favorite movies. We loved the movie North. 


Remember the mickey mouse game and zombies ate my neighbors? Remember when we convinced mom to let us stay up late on a school night so we could beat the mickey game? Remember when we watched the Grinch over and over again? 

When I got my first camera from Grandpa Fisher for Christmas, you were obsessed with taking pictures of your butt.

We made plays together and dreamed up amazing stories. We played vampires. 


Remember the Mickey Mouse Halloween and Christmas movies? We loved watching those together.


You visited me a number of times my junior year of college when I lived in the house off Como Ave. We partied and you hung out with my friends. 


When you turned 21 this summer, mom said to me, "I'm so glad we made it here, it was a little hairy for a while."


It's true Josh, you have certainly come a long way. Recently, you and I have had some wonderful conversations. You are becoming interested in science and global happenings. I told Blake how impressed I was at the things you now know. 


I cannot believe that you spent 2.5 months alone in San Francisco. You are a very talented jeweler. I am so proud of you. 


I really miss you. When we were growing up, our parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles reassured me that someday, you and I were going to be the best of friends. I protested, saying that you drove me nuts and I would never be your best friend. I guess they knew something I did not. 


I am impressed at how far you have come. When I think back to all of our fights, all of the tears and harsh words, I can't believe we made it here. I am so glad. 


When I moved to Texas, something amazing happened. All of the anger I held towards you and all of the members of our family just floated away. What happened, happened. I cannot change the past, I can only move forward. 


I am happy that you are my brother. I just wish I could see you more. I can't wait for November.