The rocking horse I wanted...

When I was a little kid, I couldn't have been older than 4 at the time and my middle brother would have been 2, I used to get terribly upset that my brother wouldn't respect my toys. I didn't have much. Since I wasn't a fan of Barbie, I had no dolls but I did have lots of books from the monthly luckycharm book club, a bike with pink ribbons on the handlebars, and a wooden rocking horse. I used to hide under the couch and wait until my brother would come along to sit on my rocking horse and then scare him half to death by jumping out and chasing him around the house. This was before he became a black belt in karate and ju jitsu, then it was me who was chased around the house, up the park and in circles around the cul de sac on our road. I wanted him to ask me to use my rocking horse so that I could solidify my all powerful big sister status. Of course I had not even a smidgen of power during those years. My brother had my mother wrapped around his pinky and as the eldest sister, if I didnt keep both of us out of trouble then it was surely my fault.

He was a hellfire and you would never have known it because he had the face of an angel with light blond hair and saucer wide blue eyes. My youngest brother mostly stayed out of the fray and looked on, digestive cookie in his mouth, as the two older siblings acted out WWF no holds barred ( kids version only ;-).

Eventually, I realized that I didn't actually enjoy the presents that I got unless I could share them with my brothers. Indeed, I figured out that I enjoyed everything more if I could share it with my brothers. Taking a trip with out them would have been cruel and unusual torture because we were attached at the hip. The three musketeers.

The other night, as I lay awake avoiding the calls of an undesired suitor, I thought of how happiness is so closely tied with shared experience. It doesn't have to be shared experience with a lover or a paramour but could be with family or a close friend. Some people search across continents independently seeking what they could probably find better in twos. Some people search their whole lives and cross continents on solo missions never realizing that the meaning comes from being able to share, but not with just anyone.