Pink Ladybugs
Some days are better than others. From the time you place your big toe onto the floor of your bedroom, everything just falls into place. Or, you stub your big toe into your bedside table, setting the course for your day. Today, my car won't go into gear, it had to be towed and we are looking at a hefty repair bill. Yup, today, I'm feeling the pain in my big toe for sure!
I tend to have more days like today. Not really bad, but I don't have the feeling I am walking in a meadow full of sunflowers either. I am not a pessimist, I am just stating the honest facts. Nothing ever seems easy for me, I have always had to work very hard to get anywhere.
My twin brother, walked before me, could ride a bicycle way before I could, he was better in math, and he always had girls chasing him, from primary school, high school and beyond. Mind you, I didn't want girls chasing me around anyway! I accepted it, I didn't always like it, but I accepted it.
However, I was creative, with a warped sense of humour. When my brother and I were 15, my mom went back to work. She left before we ever made our way to school. I did have a few advantages over my brother, he was colour blind, and I wasn't. My mom, sewed coordinating coloured thread inside the collar of his shirts and the waist of his pants. This way, he could quickly and effortlessly get dressed without any fashion disasters. I knew this, so, I cut out each thread, and mixed up his wardrobe. He went to school wearing light blue Levis cords with an orange and green plaid shirt. Many fashion fauz paus! I took great pleasure in mixing up his clothes. He would approach me in the halls at school and ask me if he was dressed in coordinated clothes. I, of course would shake my head yes and ask why he was asking. He would say a lot of other students were laughing and saying "Nice outfit". I assured him they were just teasing him, and not to worry.
During our high school years, there were many times, he didn't finish, or even begin for that matter an assignment that was due. My mom, would grab me as I came downstairs and say "Your brother has an assignment due, finish it"! I, always had mine completed and handed in long before they were ever due, my brother, was an exercise in patience for my mom. I would stay home, and work away on it, and have it finished by lunch. What really irritated me was when he received a better mark than I did on the same assignment, from the same teacher! This happened quite a bit in grade 10, and I was getting tired of my lazy brother getting all the glory for my hard work!
I had a plan, my brother had gym class the whole year, and of course he would have a shower afterwards. He would pack his gym bag with clean, unmatched clothes (of course), and a towel. My mom had this funny pink, ladybug towel that she thought was too hideous to hang up, and she was right, so, it was the perfect towel for the job I had in mind. The first time was easy, I replaced his towel with the ladybug towel, giggling to myself. I had forgotten all about it, until I felt a hard shove into my locker, the door slammed in my face and heard the lock click. Aha! The towel was a success. I had to wait for a few minutes for my locker partner to break me out but it was worth it. I had the victory! I had to be creative after that. He would check his gym bag as he was going out the door to make sure there was no pink ladybug towel hiding in there. I, would pack it in mine, and we would usually walk to school together. He was so predictable! He would drop his gym bag outside the door, or outside his locker, anywhere. I would just wait quietly in the background, usually when he was surrounded by girls. I would transfer that pink, ladybug towel into his gym bag on more than a dozen occasions that year!
Of course, the girls, when hearing of his pink, ladybug towel thought it was adorable, and he must be sensitive! Ya right, he thought burping the alphabet was a social grace! My plot backfired, they found him even more endearing!
Life continued like this for many years. The pink, ladybug towel, was demoted to the rag bag, but I still had my moments of brilliance every now and again.
He took up downhill skiing, and my parents bought him a nice ski suit with coordinating hat and ski gloves in gray, with a black and white stripe at the side. He was thrilled! As he tried it on, I smiled and whispered to him "It's pink"! He was horrified and immediately took it off. It hung in the closet all winter. My mom was so mad at me, she made me tell him it wasn't pink, but he didn't believe me. I of course would wink when I said "It's not pink, it's gray". Thankfully my mom never knew this until years later, at which point we could all laugh. My brother! He was like tree ripe for the picking, and I picked!
Yes, life can be challenging for some, or a cake walk for others. I don't know if the stars have to be perfectly aligned to be that blessed, or if cosmic chaos is what's happening for the rest of us. I do know that for me, everyday is like going 15 rounds with the champ. Planning doesn't help, because something always happens and the plan becomes null and void.
Some people call it Murphy's Law, fate, kismet, or just plain bad luck. I call it a day in the life of me!
I don't need everything to be easy, but it does help. I don't need rainbows and sunshine everyday either. There are only a few things I need in life. God, my health, my family and my good friends, many things I have been blessed with, a free country to live in, a roof over my head, indoor plumbing, and I cant forget that pink, ladybug towel! Wink wink.
Here is the EXACT ladybug towel we owned. I think ours must have faded to pink. I am seriously considering buying a set for my brother for Christmas!
I tend to have more days like today. Not really bad, but I don't have the feeling I am walking in a meadow full of sunflowers either. I am not a pessimist, I am just stating the honest facts. Nothing ever seems easy for me, I have always had to work very hard to get anywhere.
My twin brother, walked before me, could ride a bicycle way before I could, he was better in math, and he always had girls chasing him, from primary school, high school and beyond. Mind you, I didn't want girls chasing me around anyway! I accepted it, I didn't always like it, but I accepted it.
However, I was creative, with a warped sense of humour. When my brother and I were 15, my mom went back to work. She left before we ever made our way to school. I did have a few advantages over my brother, he was colour blind, and I wasn't. My mom, sewed coordinating coloured thread inside the collar of his shirts and the waist of his pants. This way, he could quickly and effortlessly get dressed without any fashion disasters. I knew this, so, I cut out each thread, and mixed up his wardrobe. He went to school wearing light blue Levis cords with an orange and green plaid shirt. Many fashion fauz paus! I took great pleasure in mixing up his clothes. He would approach me in the halls at school and ask me if he was dressed in coordinated clothes. I, of course would shake my head yes and ask why he was asking. He would say a lot of other students were laughing and saying "Nice outfit". I assured him they were just teasing him, and not to worry.
During our high school years, there were many times, he didn't finish, or even begin for that matter an assignment that was due. My mom, would grab me as I came downstairs and say "Your brother has an assignment due, finish it"! I, always had mine completed and handed in long before they were ever due, my brother, was an exercise in patience for my mom. I would stay home, and work away on it, and have it finished by lunch. What really irritated me was when he received a better mark than I did on the same assignment, from the same teacher! This happened quite a bit in grade 10, and I was getting tired of my lazy brother getting all the glory for my hard work!
I had a plan, my brother had gym class the whole year, and of course he would have a shower afterwards. He would pack his gym bag with clean, unmatched clothes (of course), and a towel. My mom had this funny pink, ladybug towel that she thought was too hideous to hang up, and she was right, so, it was the perfect towel for the job I had in mind. The first time was easy, I replaced his towel with the ladybug towel, giggling to myself. I had forgotten all about it, until I felt a hard shove into my locker, the door slammed in my face and heard the lock click. Aha! The towel was a success. I had to wait for a few minutes for my locker partner to break me out but it was worth it. I had the victory! I had to be creative after that. He would check his gym bag as he was going out the door to make sure there was no pink ladybug towel hiding in there. I, would pack it in mine, and we would usually walk to school together. He was so predictable! He would drop his gym bag outside the door, or outside his locker, anywhere. I would just wait quietly in the background, usually when he was surrounded by girls. I would transfer that pink, ladybug towel into his gym bag on more than a dozen occasions that year!
Of course, the girls, when hearing of his pink, ladybug towel thought it was adorable, and he must be sensitive! Ya right, he thought burping the alphabet was a social grace! My plot backfired, they found him even more endearing!
Life continued like this for many years. The pink, ladybug towel, was demoted to the rag bag, but I still had my moments of brilliance every now and again.
He took up downhill skiing, and my parents bought him a nice ski suit with coordinating hat and ski gloves in gray, with a black and white stripe at the side. He was thrilled! As he tried it on, I smiled and whispered to him "It's pink"! He was horrified and immediately took it off. It hung in the closet all winter. My mom was so mad at me, she made me tell him it wasn't pink, but he didn't believe me. I of course would wink when I said "It's not pink, it's gray". Thankfully my mom never knew this until years later, at which point we could all laugh. My brother! He was like tree ripe for the picking, and I picked!
Yes, life can be challenging for some, or a cake walk for others. I don't know if the stars have to be perfectly aligned to be that blessed, or if cosmic chaos is what's happening for the rest of us. I do know that for me, everyday is like going 15 rounds with the champ. Planning doesn't help, because something always happens and the plan becomes null and void.
Some people call it Murphy's Law, fate, kismet, or just plain bad luck. I call it a day in the life of me!
I don't need everything to be easy, but it does help. I don't need rainbows and sunshine everyday either. There are only a few things I need in life. God, my health, my family and my good friends, many things I have been blessed with, a free country to live in, a roof over my head, indoor plumbing, and I cant forget that pink, ladybug towel! Wink wink.
Here is the EXACT ladybug towel we owned. I think ours must have faded to pink. I am seriously considering buying a set for my brother for Christmas!
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