13 Weird Things My Brother And I Did While Growing Up

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Every once in a while when I’m faced with an adult-sized problem, I get nostalgic for my childhood. For a time when my problems were simple and my life was carefree. Then I remember what weird kids my brother and I were and wonder how we both turned out to be somewhat normal adults.

1. We used to swing from the vines of our backyard willow trees pretending to be Tarzan. On more than one occasion we both snapped the branches off and landed flat on our backs. That was my first experience with getting the wind knocked out of me.

2. We put on every pair of pajamas and article of sports clothing we could find and rollerbladed in the driveway. For all neighbors to see.

3. We filled up a storage bin with water from the hose and sat in it on hot summer days. Also, I’m pretty sure I almost got hypothermia from this.

4. I used to make him pretend to be my dog. I made him wear a Dalmatian costume and named him Prudence. His “doghouse” was the hallway closet.

5. We used to line the couch cushions up in the hallway and jump over them. Like those hurdle jumpers in the Olympics.

6. We used to pretend our bikes were horses and we would joust with twigs. Surprisingly, no injuries resulted.

7. Our closets shared a back wall, so rather than talk in each other’s rooms, we would sit in our closets, separately, and talk through the wall.

8. We vacuumed the cat.

9. Our mom made us a tree swing that bordered right on a row of trees in our backyard. Naturally, we took turns pushing each other into the trees when she wasn’t looking.

10. Our backyard fort was EPIC. With the neighbor kids, we created the most impressive labyrinth of a fort. We even had individual rooms (trees) for each person and swept the floor daily (which was dirt).

11. Experimental cooking. One particularly impressive dish was made of cake batter, smarties, and licorice. Hellooooo diabetes!

12. We used to shoot apples with a plastic bow and arrow. Never have I ever been so sticky in my life as I was on that day.

13. We used to pretend we were Amish and would collect fireflies and put them in a Tupperware cup. For some reason we thought this was the method the Amish used to see at night. Kid logic.