I have one sibling, a brother, who is 3 years younger than me.
As kids, we fought all the time. Actually, as adults, we’ve just moved from “I’m gonna kill you if I catch you” type brawls, to “can we please take a photo without bunny ears” (my mom, begging) adults.
Since I was the big sister, smarter, wiser, better looking, I usually won the battles. The below photo was taken circa 1976 when we lived in Hawaii. Notice how clueless he looks. And notice how freakin’ thrilled I look, just knowing that I am about to douse his little monster head in sand.
Of course, he had his moments. Here we are again, my brother seeking revenge. You can’t see the look on my face, but I am sure I was telling him in no uncertain terms that he was going to be up close and personal with the bottom of the ocean at Waikiki if he threw that sand at me. “Go ahead. You’ll be choking up salt water for days,” was probably going through my mind, coming out of my mouth, or both. Just look at his face. It has ‘chicken‘ written all over it.
![SEan5[6]](http://www.showmethemom.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/SEan56.jpg "SEan5[6]")
All of this brings me to my point: proof that the gene pool in our family has clearly improved over the last thirty or so years.
The below photo is of my 3 year old niece and 1 year old nephew (my brother’s kids, of course, my angels would never do such a thing.)
My niece skipped right over the sand and moved on to Sharpies. Damn near genius. Why didn’t I think of that? I could have just colored him with a permanent marker, tattooed “#1 Sister” right on his forehead!
The best part? The looks on their faces.
If we could read their minds, I’m sure the little thought bubbles would say:
Super smart niece: (and trust me on this one, if you knew her, you would agree) “oh &*$%, I’m in big trouble.”
Still to learn nephew?: “What? You mean I don’t have to let her color my face with a Sharpie? How come no one told me?”
She still has a lot to learn about baby brothers. They eventually get bigger. Grosser. They make you catch them before you can cause any damage.
But just wait ’till I teach her how to read and write.
He’ll be sleeping with one eye open. 
(A rare moment of playing nice. I’m sure once the camera clicked, I took him down.)
If you enjoyed this post, get the e-mail version, follow my Working Mom series, or become an Examiner yourself!
Follow me for the next 4 weeks as I take part in the Gotta Love Chevy, Mom Needs A Time Out blogging project! There will be daily give aways and prizes! Come on over to our Facebook Group!
Or visit my friends over at Munday Chevrolet, here in Houston! Tell them Shannon sent you!
![IMG00596-20091224-1150[1]](http://www.showmethemom.com/wp-content/themes/canvas/thumb.php?src=wp-content/uploads/2009/12/IMG00596-20091224-11501-671x1024.jpg&w=35&h=35&zc=1&q=90){kind=small}
![IMG00363-20090822-1313[1]_thumb](http://www.showmethemom.com/wp-content/themes/canvas/thumb.php?src=wp-content/uploads/2009/08/IMG00363-20090822-13131_thumb.jpg&w=35&h=35&zc=1&q=90){kind=small}
My sister and I were over 5 years apart. Growing up she drove me crazy. Now she's my best friend!!!
Love this post. Gives me hope that one day my kids will stop killing each other!!
Siblings – a joy to watch grow, act & react, fight and then become best friends. No other person can replace a sibling. And those are the memories a parent and grandparent will always have.
Hilarious post! I was an only child but I have four kids and these moments definitely are similar to those that my kids will retell when they are adults!
Very interesting and amusing subject. I read with great pleasure.