"Differential Diagnosis"

On a cold January night in 1989, I was suddenly woken up by the unusual amount of movement going on in the house. It was close to three AM and both my mom and dad were moving about the house with a sense of urgency.? I remember my dad walking into my room and gently nudging me. “Wake up, we gotta go get your sister.”

Everyone has a memory that they will always remember for some reason.? Be it surprisingly funny, sad, or simply something out of character, but you remember it clearly.? This was one of those times, I looked up at my dad with my groggy eyes and remember telling him, “Can’t we pick her up later? I’m sleeping.”? This statement has defined the relationship between her and I from day one, me being inconvenienced for her sake, and I say that in the most sincere way.

Once everyone was onboard in my dad’s car, a 1985 Chevy Celebrity, I quickly continued my slumber in the back seat with the “car noises” lulling me to sleep.? I heard my mom and dad exit the car and go on their way.? A bit later, my dad returned and escorted me inside some kind of lobby.? The bright lights, the shiny tiled floor, the occasional overhead page, how was I suppose to sleep here?? *sigh*

Most adult males have a strict bowel movement schedule, in case you didn’t already know.? For some, its first thing in the morning. For others, it may be a few hours later.? My dad, suddenly had the urge to “stick to his schedule,” if you know what I’m saying.? He looks over at me, and tells me that he’ll be right back. “I’m just going to run home real quick.”? Just like that, I was alone in a big, unfamiliar, empty lobby. Several minutes later, some guy wearing green “pajamas” walks up to me and asks where my dad is.? He told me my mom wanted my dad to go see her, to which I responded with, “he’s at home.”? I’m sure my mom was real happy to hear that my dad, “went home.”? Looking back, I can’t say that I blame him for going home to “take care of business.”? I refuse to make physical contact with many fixtures in most public restrooms.

By the time my dad got back, I was wearing green pajamas myself, and a man handed him a pair.? We walked into the room my mom was in and I was immediately drawn to the transparent “plastic box” next to her bed.? There lied my little sister, all wrapped up in layers of blankets.? From that point forward, I was a big brother.? The implications of which, I wasn’t aware of until much later…

1. andhari says:

   January 14, 2009 at 1:03 pm

   oh my god, this is touching..im the first born so i saw my mom gave birth to my two brothers..i cant forget it until now

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   • OmegaRadium says:

     January 16, 2009 at 2:29 pm

     Hard to forget such an event! Good times and bad, those siblings are with you through all of it.

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2. Lump says:

   January 14, 2009 at 1:51 pm

   haha what a memory!
   hmmm I wonder how my brothers felt when I came into this world. I know later in life they gave me a bunch of shit for wanting to play with their GJ Joes and my barbies at the same time.

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   • OmegaRadium says:

     January 16, 2009 at 2:28 pm

     Hey, the GIs needed girlfriends right? I see nothing wrong with a GI Joe/Barbie hook-up, in fact I salute those women for choosing short men.

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3. emmysuh says:

   January 14, 2009 at 5:34 pm

   I’m pretty sure I cried the day my younger sister was born, because no one would pay attention to me. At all.

   This too set a precedent for me for the rest of our lives. I love her now though…

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   • OmegaRadium says:

     January 16, 2009 at 2:27 pm

     Siblings are great! I wouldn’t trade mine for anything!

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4. “Differential Diagnosis” » Big Brother Neglected… says:

   January 15, 2009 at 1:21 am

   [...] may have been a slight inconvenience for me due to the disruption of my beauty sleep, more on that here.  However, nothing could have prepared me for the sudden neglect I was about to experience upon [...]

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5. “Differential Diagnosis” » Big Brother: Big Bike says:

   January 15, 2009 at 10:02 pm

   [...] sister came into my life one day and set events into motion which eventually lead to many great personal discoveries and some grief, [...]

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