I came into this world early. Actually, I arrived shortly after my mother dropped a can of peas on her toe. Dramatic entrance right from the start - a quick trip to the hospital and there I was.
Second.
Yep, I was the new baby in the family. The second child. An instant sister. And never alone.
Seriously - I was never alone. Not if you saw any of my baby pictures. Wait - you haven't seen any of my baby pictures, have you? Because there aren't any baby pictures of me! They don't exist! All my baby pictures are toddler duos.
Ok. Before my sister pulls out a solo pic of me as a baby, I should clarify. I have seen two photos of somewhat babyish me that didn't have my sister in the picture. Both were bath-related candids. Neither was done by the JCPenney Photo Studio.
Oh, I'm not bitter. Not at all. It's great being the sidekick.
Well, maybe I've been a bit bitter. Maybe. But that's in the past.
It must have been nice being first, though. Tons of attention. Tons of toys. Never a hand-me-down. Never anyone thinking you're "special" 'cuz you're not walking or talking when someone else did.
But then again....
She had to hold my hand when I got lost in the supermarket. She had to show me how Barbie's and the Lite Brite worked. She had to sign up to go on the Spanish Club field trip so that I could go, too. She had to keep me from eating sand so that I wouldn't get the preventative dose of worm medicine our mother loved to dole out weekly. She had to sleep by the window to keep the vampire bats from getting me. (Don't tell her that, though. I don't think she knows that that was a service she was providing back then!)
And she had to be alone all that time. The time before I got to her.
Coming in second wasn't so bad, actually. It's kind of the best. After all - second place planted me right beside my sister.
Comments